


Stars Incline Us

by justalittlebean



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Robin (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Autistic Damian Wayne, BAMF Tim Drake, Bad Parent Jack Drake, Bad Parent Janet Drake, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Batfamily (DCU), Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, But he's trying, Child Neglect, Core Four (Young Justice), Creepy Ra's al Ghul, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Dimension Travel, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Good Older Sibling Tim Drake, Good Sibling Tim Drake, I added a timkon relationship tag but it's gonna be a, I like to think the writing is getting better w every chapter, Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd is Robin, M/M, My First Fanfic, Pining, Please be gentle, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Tim Drake-centric, and oh boy he's about to get so many, conners gonna be pining for a while lol, do not repost to another site, i want that to be a tag so im making it one, it's an alt universe thing, slow burn found family, slowburn found family is my jam, thats it, uhh tagging is hard, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27200015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justalittlebean/pseuds/justalittlebean
Summary: Tim Drake discovers that sometimes family is the hodgepodge gang of vigilantes and teenage superheroes from another universe that collectively decides to adopt you.Or, with the power of hand wavy multiverse travel, a tired and beaten down comics!Tim winds up in the Young Justice cartoon universe.Or, I have an incredibly niche obsession with this trope and will populate it myself if need be.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Bart Allen & Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent & Cassie Sandsmark, Tim Drake & Cassie Sandsmark, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent & Cassie Sandsmark, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Comments: 818
Kudos: 1633





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Liminal Space](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19016809) by [Calamityjim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calamityjim/pseuds/Calamityjim). 



> I now have a beta! The wonderful Alaneii has gone through and helped me make everything run smoother. Thanks to them and go check out their works!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **24 February 2016**  
>  ^^I'm adding in dates for the chapters
> 
> Hello fellow fanfic readers! First things first, this is my first fic ever so please be gentle. This work is largely inspired by Calamityjim's Liminal Spaces series, but will follow completely different storylines. It's one of my all-time favorite fics so if you haven't already, go check it out!
> 
> This fic takes place in the five year gap (Jason's alive!) and roughly half a year after Red Robin (the universe Tim is from is a bit darker than normal canon), but canon is nothing more than the sandbox in which I choose to build my castle.
> 
> I'm going to be focusing a lot on the relationships between Tim and the other Robins, specifically Damian, and the comic yj team (Tim, Kon, Bart, and Cassie), and I plan for the fic to be pretty long.
> 
> Title is from the Latin quote "Astra inclinant, sed non obligant," which translates to "The stars incline us, they do not bind us."
> 
> Have fun reading!
> 
> EDIT: I rearranged some of the POVs to make it a lot less choppy.

Tim was no stranger to waking up in a League of Assassins base with a pounding head and no idea how he got there.

The new part was waking up with a child hovering over him.

He blinked a few times to clear the fog from his vision and noticed the dark skin and sharp green eyes of his kind-of-sort-of-brother-who-is-constantly-trying-to-kill-me, Damian. Except this Damian was significantly smaller than the one Tim was familiar with and at least a couple years younger.

He let his head thump back down onto the bed that his wrists were bound to. He  _ hated _ time travel. Or multiverse travel. Add that to the list of things to figure out.

“Want to tell me what I’m doing here?” he asked, not expecting an answer. It didn’t take him long to test the chains around his wrists and subsequently start picking the locks. That further cemented his theory that this was not the version of Ra’s that he knew, especially considering that he had been left in the Red Robin suit. Ra’s knew better than to underestimate him this much. That being said, any version of Ra’s would be more careful than this.

To his surprise, the child (Damian? It was probably Damian, but it wouldn’t be his first time dealing with clones.) stepped forward and began to speak.

“Grandfather says you will be an asset to the League. He has brought you here to evaluate your usefulness.”

Damian’s statement confirmed it, he was being tested right now. Tim could think of no other reason for Ra’s to leave him barely restrained with only Damian as guard. Didn’t matter. The fact was that this Ra’s felt the need to test him, which meant that this Ra’s had no idea what he was capable of, and that was a weakness that Tim could capitalize on.

After all, that was the most important lesson Lady Shiva had taught him.

First things first though, he had a small child to take care of. Risking retaliation, Tim calmly sat up and let the chains fall.

“Hello, Damian.”

The way the child stiffened when he said his name solved that mystery.

“How is it you know my name?” he demanded, shifting slightly into a fighting stance and drawing his katana. 

Tim had no doubt that he could easily disarm this Damian, but his real strength had always been his ability to calculate odds and manipulate those around him. The softness on Damian’s cheeks and in his eyes was something he could use. Plus, there was no way he would leave a child, even one that he hated, in the care of the League of Assassins. Damian was coming with him.

“Didn’t Ra’s tell you? Guess he doesn’t want you knowing.” A little on the nose, but also one of Damian’s insecurities. Damian craved trust and had a strong desire to be useful. This also would confirm that the grandfather Damian had mentioned was Ra’s. He didn’t actually have any doubt, but it was always safe to double check when possibly in the wrong universe.

The slight furrow of Damian’s brows told him that it had worked.

“I am sure that Grandfather has disclosed all necessary information to me. Additional information will be supplied as needed.” His katana dipped a little unconsciously.

“Yeah? How often are you told that one?”

Tim stretched his arms upward, hearing his back pop in several places before standing up and rolling his neck.

“I am still in training. I am certain that one day I will be properly proclaimed as Grandfather’s heir, and as such, will be given unrestricted knowledge about the riff-raff lurking around our bases.”

_ ‘Ah, there’s Damian’s signature charm.’ _

Tim lazily turned his back to Damian and took a few steps to work the stiffness from his legs.

“Proclaimed heir to the League of Assassins? Does your father know about that?”

Back still turned, he heard Damian suck in air. Tim closed his eyes and smirked slightly. 

Hook. 

“My father?” came Damian, a touch of desperation in his voice.

Line.

“Yeah. Actually, once I get out of here I’m gonna go visit him for a bit.” He let a bit of mock surprise fill his voice, “Oh, did you want to come with?”

Sinker.

Another one of Damian’s insecurities: Bruce. Tim wasn’t sure how much Talia had told Damian about Bruce at this point, but he was willing to bet it wasn’t enough to satisfy Damian’s desire to meet him. He just had to make sure that it would be enough to outweigh his loyalty to the League. Not an impossible task. He didn’t actually have to make Damian think he was betraying them so much as he had to convince him that it was his birthright to know his father. Once he delivered Damian to Bruce (and god he hoped there was a Bruce here), Bruce could take care of the rest.

Damian fumbled slightly. “Well— My father, I— It’s—,” he took a deep breath, before he managed to speak coherently, if a bit strangled. “You know my father?”

Tim simply turned and nodded in response.

“What’s he like?” Damian looked a little taken aback by his own question, as if it hadn’t been the one he meant to ask, but he forged onwards. “Mother has told me that he is a brave and stern man. That he is strong and capable and decisive. Is this true?”

Seeing the vulnerability in his eyes was the first time Tim allowed his mental calculations to falter since waking up. Tim didn’t like the brat, but this Damian had certainly not tried to murder him. Yet, at least. The fact remained that this child, for all his familiarity, was, in essence, a stranger. He had no idea who Tim was. He was just a kid that wanted to know about his father. The thing was though, Tim’s recent interactions with Bruce, and the rest of the family, had been strained. After a year of being called crazy ended only by plucking Bruce from the timestream, Tim had been… pushed aside, so to speak. He didn’t blame them. It wasn’t their fault that Tim had outlived his usefulness. He had always been a fill-in anyways. Or, as Jason put it,  _ 'Replacement.’ _

He realized he had been silent a few seconds too long so he walked over to Damian, dropping to a knee and noting that the katana was all but completely lowered.

“Yes, he is all of those things. He is brave and stern, but also kind and compassionate. Strength tempered by a desire to use that strength to help others. Would you like to meet him?” Technically true, even if that compassion was never aimed at Tim. But it would be towards Damian, and that was all that mattered right now.

“I have yet to obtain permission from Mother to know Father’s identity, nor to leave the base at this moment.”

“Oh. I suppose she doesn’t trust you enough for that information either?”

Damian hesitated.

“Isn’t it your right to know who your father is?” He walked over to the door. “I’m leaving with or without you, do you want to come with and meet him?”

“Yes.”

That was a lot easier than he expected it to be. He supposed this Damian was younger and not as indoctrinated as his other self had been when they first learned of him.

“Decisive,” Tim remarked, testing the door to see if it was locked. It was.

“Capable,” Damian replied, watching as Tim swiftly picked the lock.

They shared a small smile. ‘ _ Huh _ ,’ Tim pondered, ‘ _ Maybe this Damian is more different than I thought.’ _

“Alright, kid, what can you tell me about the base. Where are we?”

“I am not a child and you shall not speak of me as such.” Damian waited for Tim to nod in acknowledgement before he continued. “We are in a League base located in Egypt.”

Tim hummed, searching through one of his suit compartments. “The one in the mainland or the one on the Sinai peninsula?”

Damian paused. “The base on the peninsula.”

“Huh, haven’t been to this one before. In the mountains, and the nearest city should be what? Nekhel, right?”

“Yes. Nekhel is located at the base of the mountain range.”

“Probably too obvious though. We’d be better off contacting someone to pick us up using the League’s systems than we would making a break for it.”

“I should be able to lead us to a communications center, but there will be guards along the way.”

“Lucky for us, we’re not going that way.” 

* * *

The vents were cramped. Damian and his stupid tiny shoudlers seemed to have no trouble, but Tim was struggling a bit. For once in his life, he was grateful for his smaller-than-average stature.

Now, crawling through the vents wasn’t an outstanding, never before seen plan. It’s kind of an obvious alternative. What wasn’t were the EMPs he had set off to disturb any cameras inside the room and outside in the hallway, and the small ball he had rolled into the hallway set on a short timer to deploy knockout gas. Really, Ra's underestimating him made this all too easy. 

Together, the EMPs, gas, and unlocked door would make it look like they had tried to escape via the hallway. It wouldn’t hold up to any hard scrutiny, but it would buy them time.

And time was all they needed.

Tim handed Damian a modified rebreather that covered the nose and would filter out any unwanted gas. Quietly opening the vent, he slipped another knockout gas ball into the communications room and waited for them to fall. He dropped down and hurried over to the large computer, Damian close behind. He unceremoniously shoved the unconscious guy who had been sitting there out of the chair, taking the seat for himself. Luckily, the guy was already signed in so Tim wouldn’t have to hack the system.

Well, he was still going to, but that was besides the point. Tim was itching for a reprise of the demolition that he had caused to the League’s systems in his original timeline/universe. He pulled out a drive that he had pre-programmed with the necessary coding just in case he ever had the chance to do this again and stuck it into the computer. Working quickly, he used the unconscious man’s login to contact a secure line that his version of Batman used, hoping it would work.

It did, but it wasn’t Batman who picked up.

It was Robin.

“Heyyy, B— Wait, who are you?”

The dim lights of the Batwing made it hard to tell which Robin it was, or if it was even a Robin that Tim was familiar with, but the red, yellow, and green were unmistakable.

“Robin, we require an immediate extraction,” and he followed by rattling off a ten-digit code that Bruce had reserved for ‘cases of temporal or spatial disturbances caused by rare instances of time and/or multiverse travel,’ as he so succinctly put it. Dick, on the other hand, called it the ‘hinky code’ because it let them know something hinky was going on. 

Robin was obviously a bit thrown, but he recovered quickly. “Okay, tracking your location now. Oh, shit,” he said, sounding pleased.

“What?”

“I’m not too far from you guys, I was actually just on my way to Ethiopia. At top speed, I can make it there in about half an hour.”

Blood began to pound in Tim’s ears. That was Jason. Baby Jason. Pre-death Jason.

Robin Jason.

And he had been on his way to Ethiopia.

There was no time to dwell on that, but he couldn’t help it.

Out of all of his so-called family members, Jason was the only one that his relationship with had actually improved in recent months. That was mostly because the bar for improvement there was so low, but still. He wouldn’t exactly call them friends, but Jason was no longer trying to kill him which was more than he could say for Damian. Jason had been his Robin. The one he spent years following around Gotham with a camera. The one whose death changed his life. And this Jason just narrowly escaped that same death. 

“So what’s the situation?” Jason asked.

He shook it off and gave Jason a rundown while he hooked the channel up to a pair of earpieces, one of which went to Damian, and viciously activated the program on the drive.

“Oops,” he smiled. “Come on, kid, let’s go.” Damian glared at him. It was adorable.

At this point, there was no way the League didn't know they got out, but their systems were in shambles, the cameras were all down, and they had no idea that Jason was coming. Even if they did guess he would contact someone for help, they had no way of knowing how close Jason was. They’d be expecting them to try to make a break for it, maybe to that city, Nekhel. But here, Tim was in control. All they had to do was burrow down until Jason got there and they’d be home free.

Well, Tim would still need to figure out how to get home, technically, and he really wasn’t sure why Damian was still on his side, but all of that could be dealt with later. For now, he had to get them outside. Back to the vents it was.

* * *

Damian was not sure what to make of the strange man (boy? He looked and sounded young, but his voice and shoulders were weighed down by something heavy, and the mask hid his eyes). He desperately wanted to meet his father, but he couldn’t help but feel he was betraying the League by collaborating with the… enemy? He really didn’t know who the strange man was. He was given no information or instructions except that he not speak to him and not let him escape.

Damian failed on both accounts, but he couldn’t help but be surprised that he had known his name. His very existence was a carefully guarded League secret. And then, the man had mentioned his father. Mother had not given him any concrete information about him, but she had told him about the kind of man he was. She hadn’t mentioned any of the traits that the man had, however, which made him curious.

And now, he was standing with the man, collaborating on the best route to escape. It was clear from the way he spoke that the man (and really, he had to find out his name) was well versed in League operations. Even Damian hadn’t been aware that there was more than one base in Egypt.

Damian really didn’t know why he was doing this. Did he want to meet his father that badly? The League would give the world to him on a silver platter, and he was throwing it all away for a man that he didn’t even know the name of, and the vague hope of meeting his father, who he coincidentally also did not know the name of.

He was currently leading the man through the ventilation system towards the nearest exit, but one of those issues could be solved right now.

“What is your name?”

The man was quiet for a moment. “Call me Red Robin until we get out of here, but…” He paused, considering. “My name is Tim.”

They finally reached a vent that led into a small ground floor storage room filled with art supplies. Damian would sometimes come here to replenish his own stock. The most important feature of the room was the window that could be opened and used as an exit. He figured it would be less conspicuous than one of the main exits, and most of the League wasn’t aware it was here.

They dropped in and Timothy pressed a button on the earpiece. “Robin, what’s your ETA?”

“About two minutes. Small problem though. Even if I could find someplace to land in these mountains, it wouldn’t be safe to. I’ll have to drop a ladder down and you’ll have to hold on.”

“I figured. We’ll exit the West side of the base in approximately one minute.”

“Copy that.”

"Timothy, who is this Robin that is in charge of our extraction?”

“No names in the field.” He blinked as if it was an automatic response. “He’s… your father’s partner, so to speak. He’ll take us to meet him.”

Damian wasn’t entirely satisfied with that answer, but it was time to go.

He unlatched the window and hopped out onto the ground, noting the dark plane rapidly closing in on the base with a long rope ladder unfurling below it. His eyes met Timothy’s. They’d have to time this exactly right.

The plane swooped by, the weighted base of the ladder almost sweeping the ground, and they jumped for it. Once they latched on, the plane sped up, gaining altitude and trying to get away as fast as possible.

Damian wasn’t expecting the change in velocity and his grip slipped as the ladder was dragged behind the plane rather than remaining relatively vertical.

_ ‘This will be my death,’  _ he thought, _ ‘and a pathetic one at that.’ _

But he didn’t even have the chance to fall. Timothy reached out with one hand and grabbed his ankle. Being suspended upside down in the air at an incredible speed with his only tether being a hand on his ankle was an entirely different and more potent kind of fear.

All he could focus on was the ground below him and the shout Timothy let out when the force of catching Damian wrenched his arm. A few seconds later, the plane slowed slightly, the base far in hindsight, and allowed Timothy to drag Damian back to the ladder which he immediately latched onto. The ladder began retracting back into the plane, taking them with it. His position below Timothy gave him an unobstructed view as to how he favored his left arm, which worried Damian slightly.

They reached safety and collapsed through the opening.

“Thanks, Jay,” Timothy coughed out.

* * *

Jason’s mother was alive.

Not Catherine, the woman who raised him.

But his birth mother was alive.

And he was going to meet her.

Now, he may not have been using common sense when he told Bruce he was going to Mount Justice and then stole the Batwing so he could fly to Ethiopia, but he figured Bruce would forgive him given the circumstance.

He was going to meet his mother. Jason felt giddy with excitement. 

Then the signal went off on a line that only the Bats knew. Dick was currently offworld so Jason thought that would mean Bruce or Alfred. He was wrong.

The interaction that followed was a little odd, but they had used the hinky code, so now Jason’s plans were derailed to go save a couple of strangers. He should probably tell Bruce. Oh well.

Half an hour later, Jason was flying a plane with two people desperately hanging onto the flailing rope ladder he had extended. Not his brightest idea, he’ll admit that. 

When the two of them finally collapsed into the ship, the older one coughed out a quick, “Thanks, Jay.”

Okay, so he knew his name. Not entirely surprising, but still jarring. Now that the cargo was safe though, Jason had to do what he’d been putting off since he first received their singal: call Bruce.

Jason really didn’t want to do that.

The Batwing really wasn’t all that big so it only took the other guy like two steps to enter the cockpit. Maybe he could put off calling Bruce under the guise of gathering more information. Jason barely opened his mouth to speak before the guy cut him off.

“Nope. I know that look. Call Bruce.”

Then a ring went off. Turns out Jason didn’t even have to call Bruce. Bruce was calling him.

He answered and was overwhelmed by Bruce babbling something about… the Joker? And Ethiopia? Jason didn’t know what he was talking about, but he had never heard Bruce so much as stutter, much less babble. The guy was seriously panicking.

“Whoa, chill out, B, I was just about to call you.”

“You’re safe?”

“I mean, yeah, unless one of the hitchhikers I just picked up is about to murder me.”

“You… picked up hitchhikers in the Batwing?”

At that point, the guy leaned into the camera’s view and once more rattled off the hinky code.

“Time or multiverse travel?” Bruce asked.

“Not sure yet, could be either. I only woke up here about an hour ago. My name’s Tim.”

“You’ll understand that I’ll need to detain and question you when you arrive?”

“Naturally.”

“Robin, you mentioned hitchhikers plural. Who else is there?”

“Hold on a second,” Tim said, reaching back to pull the child, who looked nervous, into the frame. “This is your son, Damian. Surprise, it’s a boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed please leave a kudos (or, better yet, a comment ;D). I will hoard any comments or criticism like the goblin I am, so don't be afraid to tell me what you think.
> 
> The Lady Shiva line is a reference back to one of Tim's first Robin comics where he trained under her. The quote is "You are nothing. You are less than nothing. You are a child. That is how your opponents must see you. They will underestimate your skills because of your age and size. That is your advantage. But you must never see yourself that way."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **24 February 2016**
> 
> Hey guys!  
> First of all, I cannot tell you how blown away I was by the response to the first chapter. It was exciting to know that some of you out there are also obsessed with this trope. Thank you to everyone who commented, this one's for you guys! I spent all day writing this to give you guys something as thanks.
> 
> Other announcements:  
> I forgot to mention in the notes but most of you probably picked up that Tim isn't wearing a cowl. I imagine something closer to the Unternet suit because I couldn't bring myself to pretend Tim looks cool in that cowl. Also I like the way his hair floofs.
> 
> Also: I am looking for a beta! I think it would really improve chapter quality so if anyone's interested, hmu
> 
> Lastly, if you were one of the very first readers, I rearranged and merged a lot of the POVs so it flows a lot smoother. Nothing new plot-wise was added though, so it's not necessary to reread that
> 
> Thanks again, guys, have fun reading!

Jason wanted popcorn.

It wasn’t often that he got to watch Bruce attempt to communicate emotions to someone else. Sure, Bruce tried with him, but when you’re on the receiving end of it, it’s just painful. Watching it happen to someone else, however, was an absolute delight. If the small wheeze of restrained laughter Tim released was any indication, he agreed with Jason.

Bruce and Damian were standing several feet apart, locking eyes and standing completely still. Damian’s stance was almost a challenge, feet carefully angled and chin slightly raised. Bruce just looked incredibly constipated. They’ve been waiting long enough for Alfred to come back into the Cave with a tray of waters and those fancy little sandwiches that Jason happily started munching on.

Apparently Tim decided he wasn’t going to wait any longer because he started walking over to the Batcomputer.

As if someone had pressed the play button on him, Damian came alive.

“Timothy! What are you doing?”

“Trying to find out more information about what’s going on here.”

“Absolutely not. You have a probable shoulder wound that needs to be examined.”

Jason cut in, “Wait, Tim’s hurt?”

“Yes. He received injury when his shoulder was wrenched in his attempt to keep me from falling to my doom while being dragged behind your aerial vehicle.”

Bruce made a choking noise. Jason wondered if he was okay.

“I’m fine, it’s not like I haven’t dealt with worse anyhow. And figuring out where and/or when I am takes priority.”

At this, Bruce (finally) began to speak. “No. The boys are right. Come over to the medbay and let’s take a look.”

“No, really, I’m fine—”

“I implore you to allow me to examine your shoulder, Young Sir,” Alfred said, his eyes making it clear that there was a correct response. Jason should know, Alfred looked at him and Bruce like that all the time. Tim obviously picked up on it because he trudged over to the medbay.  _ ‘Alfie’s glare for the win.’ _

Tim began taking off the top part of his suit and Jason’s attention was caught once more by Damian and Bruce. It seemed Bruce had finally rebooted back up and was capable of conversation once more. He knelt down next to Damian and held his arms open, expression soft.

Damian looked unsure, as if he’d never been offered a hug before. Which… actually, that would check out given what Jason knew of his life.

“Are embraces not beneath men of our status?” Aw, he called himself a man. Cute, but he couldn’t be older than ten. Maybe younger.

“Of course not. Would you deny me a hug with my long lost son?”

Damian hesitantly stepped into the hug with his hands fisted tightly by his sides, and Bruce’s arms enclosed around him, gently, but firmly. The moment ended when they heard a small yelp from the medbay, and Damian wriggled out to check on Tim. Jason turned too and ‘ _ whoa, that’s a lot of scars.’ _

Scars and bruises covered Tim’s body, roping along his arms and torso. A particularly nasty one was positioned right over his gut. It’s probable that Bruce had just as many, but that was different somehow. Perhaps it was his small size, or the way that he had removed the mask and Jason could finally see that he wasn’t more than a year or two older than Jason. Removing the suit also made it clear that Tim was way too skinny. Like, worryingly skinny even with the wiry muscle he had going on.

If Jason was concerned at the amount of scars, Damian turned practically rabid. Jason had noticed that Damian had latched onto Tim emotionally despite having only met him today. ‘ _ Or yesterday, _ ’ he thought, recognizing that it was probably past midnight by now.

“Timothy. I demand you tell me who has done this so I can make them pay appropriately.”

“Whoa, Damian, calm down. I’m fine now.”

“Yes, but someone has caused you harm and shall pay for their actions.”

Tim stood up and patted Damian’s head, leaving his hand nestled in his hair affectionately. “Aw, Dames. You worried about me?”

Jason admired his courage. The brat would probably bite him if he tried the same thing.

Damian shoved the hand off his head. “No,” he sniffed, “I am merely invested in protecting my assets.

They exchanged a few lines back and forth before Alfred convinced Tim to sit back down, but Jason hardly noticed because of Bruce’s presence behind him.

“Don’t think I forgot about you. We need to talk, son.”

As always, Jason felt a little thrill of excitement as being called 'son.' Even after years of living with Bruce, he still had doubts about his place in the family. Regardless of the phrasing though, this was a conversation Jason had been avoiding.

“Tomorrow? Please, B?”

Bruce looked over to where the other boys were still squabbling and agreed. Jason supposed there were other issues Bruce had to deal with, otherwise he’d probably push a bit more for that talk. Mainly, the possible time and/or multiverse traveler and the new son that he had brought with him.

Yeah, Bruce would be busy for a while.

* * *

Damian stared at his father.

His father stared back.

The plane ride over had been plenty of time for Robin and Timothy to relay information about who his father was and what he did. Robin had tried convincing him that Father enjoyed dressing up as a giant bat and fighting thematically-committed villains and other city crime during the night. Damian may have believed the fighting crime part, but he was certain that Robin was trying to make a fool of him with everything else. Timothy was no use. He started laughing every time Damian tried to ask if it was true.

The staring was only broken by Timothy attempting to walk off with an unchecked injury. Convincing Timothy to manage his health properly took effort, but the man Damian knew to be Alfred Pennyworth managed the task with grace.

Father then abruptly sank to a knee and held his arms out. It took Damian a moment to understand what he was doing, but… “Are embraces not beneath men of our status?”

“Of course not. Would you deny me a hug with my long lost son?”

No, he wouldn’t. Damian entered his arms with the dignity of someone of his station, and Father’s arms wrapped firmly around him.  _ 'This isn’t unpleasant.’ _

“I’m glad you’re here,” Bruce whispered into his hair.

Damian was almost about to relax into it when Timothy let out a small cry. Gracefully untangling himself from his father’s arms, Damian turned over to—’ _ oh. Someone has hurt Timothy. _ ’ 

“Timothy. I demand you tell me who has done this so I can make them pay appropriately.”

Then Timothy insulted him by messing with his hair and ridiculously accusing him of being worried. “No. I am merely invested in protecting my assets.” He couldn’t have his intentions be muddled.

“I’m an asset now, am I?”

“Yes. You are an adequate strategist, and I may have use for your skills in the future.”

“You sure know how to make a guy feel special.”

It appears Timothy was operating under a false assumption. Damian would correct it. “I am afraid that any feelings of specialty you may be having are unfounded. You are merely adequate.”

“If I may interject this compelling line of conversation, I have not yet finished examining the injury,” Pennyworth said with a raised eyebrow. He was absolutely right. Timothy was hurt and that would come first.

Timothy sat back down and allowed Pennyworth to manipulate his arm, letting out a hiss of pain. It was declared to be severely sprained. Pennyworth began searching, presumably for medication or a sling.

“See, Timothy? It is clear you cannot be trusted to make accurate judgements about the state of your health. From now on, you will report any injuries directly to me so that I may assess them.”

“Yeah, not gonna happen, squirt.”

“I am not a child, Timothy!”

“Sure thing, kiddo.” Damian glared. “Champ?” Damian glared harder. “Peanut?”

Damian opened his mouth for a suitably scathing retort, but Father walked towards them. Robin scampered off, presumably to shower.

“Damian, would you mind coming upstairs with me? We should talk. Alfred, can you show Tim to a room when you two are done here? Tim, get some sleep, we can talk tomorrow.” Father put a hand on his shoulder and began directing him across the cave to an elevator embedded in the stone wall.

Damian finally looked around and noticed the suits lining the wall. And a ginormous penny? And a dinosaur? Why would…  _ ‘Oh no. Robin had been telling the truth.’ _

* * *

Father sat in a large armchair. Damian sat on a couch. Both waited for the other to speak. The clock ticked. Father coughed. Damian shifted. They stared.

“Mother has not told me much about you.”

“Talia didn’t tell me anything about you.” Damian felt hurt for a second before Father’s eyes widened. “That’s not to say I’m upset that you’re here. I’m not. I am  _ glad _ that you’re here. I just mean that I wish I had known.” He took a breath and seemed to get his thoughts in order. “I’m happy to meet you, Damian. I wish I could have been part of your life before, but I’m here now.”

And this… was nothing like how Mother told him he’d be. Damian had built up an image off of Mother’s descriptions of ‘stern’ and ‘disciplined,’ but this was more in line with how Timothy had described him.

“Why?” Father looked confused, so he elaborated. “Why do you wish for that?”

“Because you are my son. I know growing up in the League couldn’t have been easy, but I want to get to know you. I won’t be a perfect parent. Dick or Jason could tell you that. But will you let me try?”

Damian thought over what he had said. It sounded… pleasant the way Father talked about parenting. He could never have imagined Mother saying something like that, and yet… “I think I would wish for that too,” he said quietly. 

Father let out the air he had been holding, his shoulders dropping as they let out a tension that Damian hadn’t been aware he was carrying. He smiled and opened his arms again, and this time, Damian knew what to do. He carefully leaned into it, and Father tugged him into his lap. He expected to feel embarrassed, but instead, it just made him feel safe.

“Who is Dick?”

“Dick’s my oldest. He’s offworld on a mission right now, but he should be back soon. He leads the team of young superheroes that Jason’s on.”

“Robin is your son too?”

Bruce chuckled. “Yes.”

Damian steeled himself. “At dawn, I shall challenge Robin to a mortal combat. The older one and I shall duel when he returns.”

Bruce stiffened around him. “What do you mean by that?”

“I shall fight for my place by your side, Father. Is that not what you want?”

“No. Yes.” Once more, Father took another deep breath as if restarting his thought process.

“Yes, of course I want you with me, but you will not be challenging either of them. There’s room enough for all of you. They’re your brothers now.”

“Brothers?”

“Yes, brothers.”

“Oh. Will there be room for Timothy too?”

“Tim wants to find a way back home right now. If he decides otherwise, there will be a place for him here.”

“I do not believe Timothy was taken well care of there.”

Father sighed. “We don’t know anything about him yet,” Damian opened his mouth to interject, “ _ but _ , I will not send a child back to someplace we know is unsafe.”

Damian nodded against his father’s chest.

“Let’s get you ready for bed, son.”

* * *

Tim hated bedrest. After he was issued a sling for his ‘severely’ sprained shoulder, Alfred had begun asking all kinds of annoying questions like ‘When was the last time you slept?’ and ‘Where’s your spleen?’

Apparently he didn’t like Tim’s answers because he led Tim to a bedroom in the manor and told him to sleep. The weirdest part was that Bruce agreed. Mr. Paranoia himself made him go upstairs instead of interrogating him, or, at the very least, letting him do research.  _ ‘I mean, come on, Bruce. I bring you your missing son and save the life of your other son, and all you can focus on is my uninjured shoulder.’ _

Tim’s arm was fine.

Really, it was.

Tim had battled aliens with broken limbs and fought assassins after a barely-healed splenectomy. This was nothing.

And with that, he got up and slowly cracked the bedroom door open only to be met with Damian looking back at him.

“Where are you going, Timothy?”

“Have you been waiting there this whole time?”

“Yes. I felt it was appropriate given the cavalier approach you take towards your health.”

Tim winced. “Any chance I can convince you to go to your room and sleep?”

Damian’s staring answered for him. Underneath the mini-glare though, Tim could see how tired Damian was. The poor kid had just thrown away his life, almost died, and then traveled to an entirely foreign country. Tim still didn’t know exactly how old Damian was, but he was young and needed sleep.

“Alright, come on in,” he said, opening the door wide enough for Damian to enter.

“What?”

“You need sleep, Dames. If you’re not going to go back to your own room, then this bed is big enough for both of us.”

Damian nodded along, “I see. And my proximity to you will wake me up should you attempt to leave once again.”

Unfortunately, yes. Tim was still itching to use the Batcomputer, but this Damian had grown on him. Like fungus. Or an extremely persistent leech.

_ ‘Although, maybe that assessment is unfair,’  _ he thought, watching as Damian reached up to rub his eye with one of his massive sweater paws (They had both borrowed clothes from Jason, and they were hilariously oversized on Damian. Or adorably.) This Damian had never hurt him and actually seemed quite protective. Plus, he was undeniably a cute kid when he was sleepy like this and his glare powered down somewhat.

As they crawled into the bed, Tim became hyper aware of Damian’s position next to him. Damian had reached out and loosely gripped Tim’s wrist once they were settled, probably to make sure he stayed. Tim was… not used to gentle contact like this. It wasn’t much, but it was a little overwhelming.

“Timothy?”

“Yeah, Damian?”

“What happens next?”

“I’m not sure. I need to find a way to get back home.”

“Must you leave?”

“I have responsibilities. Ones I can’t just abandon. People who depend on me.”

Damian made a small noise at that last bit, but Tim couldn’t figure out what it meant.

“And for me? What will happen?”

“Bruce will take care of you. I know he’s a little emotionally stunted, but he means well.”

“Yes, but what will be my purpose?”

“Your purpose?’

“Yes. Mother always said my purpose was to carry out Grandfather’s legacy. I suppose now it would be to carry out Father’s.”

“No.” Damian looked up at him in surprise. “Your purpose is to be Damian. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“What does that mean.”

“It can mean whatever you want it to mean.”

“Oh. Good night, Timothy.”

“Good night, Damian.”

After that, Tim laid awake for a while longer, listening as Damian’s soft breaths evened out. What right did he have to drag Damian away from the only life he’s ever known? Everything he’d learned makes this whole situation feel less time travel-y and more this-isn’t-even-the-correct-universe-y. What right did he have to mess with a universe that wasn’t even his?

Tim quickly dismissed that line of thinking. The child sleeping next to him deserved a chance at a good life, and there’s no way he’d get that from the League. This Bruce didn’t even seem as severe as the one he was used to. Damian would be safe here.

* * *

When he woke up the next morning, Damian was still asleep, his breaths coming out in little puffs.

The alarming part was that Damian had attached himself to Tim in his sleep, his limbs all curled into a ball around Tim’s arm.

Cute, but the contact was making something under Tim’s skin itch a little. He awkwardly tried pulling his arm out, but it seemed Damian was determined to hold on. Tim had been right to liken him to a persistent leech.

There was no way for him to extract himself without waking Damian up, but Tim had things that needed to be done, so he lightly blew on Damian’s face, watching as his it screwed up in annoyance.

“Up and at ‘em, Dames.”

One eye slowly cracked open. Realizing the position he was in, Damian scrambled away and fell off the other side of the bed, quickly standing up and crossing his arms.

“I meant to do that.”

Tim began howling with laughter.

“Stop laughing!”

He was enjoying every moment of this. Tim had always wanted a little brother to tease.

Tim was going to miss this when he left.

“Let’s go, Damian. I’m sure Alfred has breakfast ready.”

He was right. They reached the kitchen to find that Alfred had gone overboard with a large spread of various breakfasts foods.

Catching Tim’s eye, Alfred smiled a bit sheepishly.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had so many to cook for. I’m afraid this might be a bit much.”

Tim let out a small chuckle, heading straight for the coffee decanter on the table. It was only about half full, so Tim shrugged his shoulders and began drinking straight from the decanter.

There was a moment of silence.

“Timothy, what are you doing?!”

Jason cackled.

Bruce stared at his outstretched hand that had been just about to grab the handle before Tim had snatched it.

Tim ignored it all in favor of walking back over to the coffee machine that had a freshly-brewed pot, hearing a wondrous “oh my god” from Jason behind him.

“Tim, no,” Bruce said, “Put the coffee down.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“You can’t be serious, Timbo. You really see nothing wrong with this?”

“Timothy, consuming this much caffeine is hardly healthy.”

“It’s fine, guys, I’m used to drinking way more than  _ this _ .” He shook the pot in their faces. Really, it wasn’t all that much. The looks on said faces told him they disagreed, which… yeah, not dealing with that right now.

“I’m heading downstairs, I’ve got research to do.” He saluted with the pot before strolling out of the kitchen, missing the way Damian looked at Bruce significantly.

Time to figure out what was going on.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that. If you did, leave a comment, tell me what you liked, tell me what you hated, tell me what I could do better, I love them all.
> 
> I made Tim slightly more emotionally competent here than your average fanfic writer. Sure, he's horrible at taking care of himself, but I remember how excited Tim was when he first learned about Damian in the comics and how he'd have a younger brother, but then Damian showed up and was Like That. So here, he is living about my headcanon of being a good older brother.
> 
> **I have a general plot planned out, but I am open to making changes and still finalizing things. If there's anything you want me to add in, let me know and I'll see what I can do. No guarantees, but I want this to be as cathartic for you guys as it is for me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **25 February 2016**
> 
>   
> Hey, gang! I'm back with a new chapter, and this one has been betaed! Have fun reading!
> 
>  **Trigger Warnings:** discussion of a canon character death (surprise, it's Jason), and light swearing

_ ‘This world is soft,’ _ was Tim’s first impression.

He could feel it in the air when he focused and breathed in deep.

Sure, there was still crime and death, but these numbers were insanely low compared to Tim’s universe. It’s no wonder this Bruce seemed to be a better parent. He actually had the time.

Tim put his elbows on the desk, lacing his fingers together and leaning forward to rest his chin on his interlocked hands. He had to figure out a way to get back to his own universe. To do that, he’d need to find out how he got here.

He had woken up in a League base. That meant Ra’s had something to do with it. At the very least, he knew how it happened. There was also the fact that setting him up in a room with Damian had been some sort of test for both of them. Damian may have been able to discern that Tim was being tested, but he didn’t think Damian had even considered that it was odd for him to be the one guarding.

If Tim wanted to get home, he had to figure out what Ra’s wanted.

That raised another point. Ra’s wanted something from him. What was it? And how far would he be willing to go to get it? He had potentially dragged Tim through the multiverse for whatever it was and would probably be willing to track Tim down to Gotham. Destroying the League’s servers bought him time, but he didn’t know how much. He’d have to go on the offensive while the League was still off-balance.

That didn’t even begin to account for Talia and Damian.

Tim’s line of thinking was interrupted by Jason hopping up onto the desk, his legs dangling slightly.

Jason, Bruce, and Damian were all hovering around watching what he was doing. Or, in Damian’s case, pretending to be disinterested while sneaking peeks when he thought no one was looking.

“So, what’s the sitch?”

Tim sighed. “Definitely not my universe. I’ll have to go back and see what Ra’s knows.”

“No.” Bruce’s voice rang out strong.

Tim was confused. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“No, you will not be going to confront the Head of the League of Assassins.” It came out deadpan.

Tim was still confused. “Because…?”

Bruce blinked slowly. He looked to Jason for assistance.

From his position on the desk, Jason grabbed Tim’s face with both hands, squishing it slightly.

“Ra’s al Ghul is a very dangerous villain that will not hesitate to kill you. Do you understand?”

Face still squished, Tim replied.

“Actually, he wants me alive. I’d be fine.”

Jason released his face, making eye contact with Bruce.

“He’s hopeless.”

“What? It’s not like I’m not used to dealing with Ra’s. We practically have battles of wit on the weekly. My Ra’s is probably pissed that I’m missing ours.”

Bruce’s eyebrow twitched. Jason sighed. Damian stepped forward.

“Timothy, would you allow me to accompany you?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

This was ridiculous.

“Bruce, your small child is currently trying to put himself in danger. Do something.”

“No, Timothy. I wish for you to be the one to explain why it is acceptable for you to go back but not me.”

Damian was using himself as a prop. That explained it.

“Because you’re a kid. I’m not. And like I said, Ra’s is a regular annoyance.”

Bruce took a deep breath and gently spun the chair around so Tim was facing him. He put a hand on Tim’s shoulder.

“You are a child too. And I want you to be safe.”

“I am  _ not  _ a child. You have no idea what I’ve been through,” he said hotly. “Besides, you let Dick and Jason put on scaly underpants and fight crime. That’s hypocritical.”

Behind him, Jason muttered, “Scaly underpants?”

_ ‘Right. Wrong universe. Jason had been wearing actual pants yesterday.’ _

“Both Robins have been safe,” Bruce said evenly. “In Gotham, they fight by my side, and the Team’s purpose is to allow young heroes to operate with independence while still having others to rely on. Nightwing makes his own choices now, but he’s an adult. You are still a minor.”

“Emancipated. I’ve been making my own decisions for a while. Besides, Jason almost died yesterday. You can’t call that safe.”

Bruce looked up sharply at Jason.

“I was in the Batwing the whole time! Promise!”

“Tim, what do you mean by ‘almost died’?” Bruce asked coldly.

“My universe’s Jason went to Ethiopia to find his mom too. The Joker beat him with a crowbar and then blew up the warehouse with Jason still inside,” he said matter of factly.

Silence.

“Holy shit,” Jason said faintly.

* * *

It’s not every day you found out you just escaped death.

Sure, being a teenage vigilante isn’t exactly a safe lifestyle, but Jason had always felt a little untouchable. That was probably what led him to do dumb stuff like flying to Ethiopia. Maybe he was being a little hard on himself, but he hadn’t even told anyone he’d left. It wasn’t like he thought Bruce would stop him from going or anything.

“Jaylad, I think it’s time we had that talk.” Bruce’s voice was hoarse.

Jason nodded numbly, hearing Bruce order Tim and Damian upstairs through the static his brain had become.

Bruce swiftly closed the distance between them to sweep Jason into his arms.

Bruce wasn’t a big hugger. He always accepted the hugs that Jason, and more commonly Dick, gave him, but he rarely initiated. This hug was different than any of those. Bruce’s arms were wrapped tightly around him, crushing Jason to his chest.

Jason clung back just as strongly.

Bruce took a deep breath. Jason had noticed that he tended to do that when he had something important to say. Probably a trick that his League-mandated therapist taught him.

“I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you. I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t tell me about this.”

“No!” Jason pulled back slightly so he could meet Bruce’s eyes. “I trust you, Bruce. Really, I do. I just… It’s stupid.” He looked away in embarrassment.

“Tell me,” he encouraged.

“I wanted to do it myself. I wanted her to see me and regret abandoning me. I wanted it to be because she saw me as me and not as ‘Bruce Wayne’s charity case.’ And before you say anything, I know that’s not true—”

“It’s okay, Jason.

“—and I know that telling you didn’t actually mean any of that would change, and it’s stupid anyways—

“It’s okay, son.”

“—I mean, even if everything was fine, I should have told you to begin with—”

“Jason, I’m not mad.”

That gave Jason a pause.

“You’re not?”

“No. I’m too relieved for that. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Oh. Me too.”

Neither of them spoke for a few more minutes.

“Y’know, when Tim first called me, he went all kinds of pale when I mentioned Ethiopia. Guess I know why now.”

Thinking Bruce had probably reached his limit, Jason tried drawing away, but Bruce pulled him back in.

“Just a little longer.”

Jason wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but eventually, Jason’s stomach began to rumble loudly enough that Bruce let him go.

“Head on up without me. I have a few things to look into.”

“If you’re not up by the time food’s ready, I’m coming back down to get you.”

Bruce simply hummed in acknowledgement and gave him a rare smile.

Jason headed back up into the manor but stopped as he exited the hidden staircase.

Tim and Damian were just outside of the grandfather clock. Tim was crouched down in front of Damian with a tired expression, but he turned to Jason when he stepped out.

“Jason! You alright, buddy?”

“Still alive, can’t complain.” Tim’s expression told him it was too soon to make jokes. “Can I actually ask you a few questions?”

“Sure, go for it. Dames, can you give us a few minutes?”

Damian crossed his arms. “I do not appreciate continuously being sent out of the room.”

Tim smiled and ruffled his hair, and Jason swore that Damian hissed.

“It won’t be long. Why don’t you go see if Alfred needs help in the kitchen?”

“Fine. But I will not tolerate this treatment henceforth.” Damian spun on his heel and began marching away.

He was barely out of sight before Tim’s eyes met Jason’s and they both broke out into snickers.

“Cute kid,” Jason commented sarcastically.

Tim shot him a quick grin before his face grew serious again.

Jason hated serious conversations.

* * *

Tim knew Damian was going to protest leaving the cave, so he wrapped an arm around him and started tugging him away.

Jason and Bruce needed time to talk.

When they exited the grandfather clock, Tim finally let Damian go and crouched down to put his head in his hands. He shouldn’t have said that. He knew he would have had to tell them eventually, but that was probably the least tactful way he could have done it.

“Timothy, are you alright?” Damian asked tentatively.

He allowed himself just a few more seconds to put his thoughts back in order and then stood up with a small smile.

“Yeah, Dames. I’m alright.”

“Oh. Is Robin?”

“Y’know you can just call him Jason, right?”

Damian turned his nose up. “I will do no such thing. Speaking to him with such familiarity would be absurd.”

“Well you can’t keep calling him Robin. Secret identities don’t work that way.”

He sighed as if that was a major inconvenience. “What is his family name?”

Tim snorted. “Todd.”

“Fine.” Damian’s voice lost its edge. “Is Todd alright?”

“He will be. He’s upset right now because I spoke without considering how it’d affect him or Bruce. I shouldn’t have done it that way,” Tim explained.

“Oh.” He looked as if he wanted to say more.

“Go on.”

“I do not understand,” Damian admitted.

“Understand what?”

“Why he is upset. No harm was caused to him.”

Tim was doing his best to explain things to Damian. He knew no one had had these sorts of conversations with him before, but he didn’t really know how to.

“Death is… scary. And it's a scary thing to find out you almost died.”

“Shouldn’t Todd’s occupation as a crimefighter exempt him from such trivialities?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Not exactly. It’s so easy to forget you’re killable when you spend your time fighting villains side-by-side with people who can bend steel with their bare hands. You begin to think you’re untouchable.”

“That seems like an inane fallacy.” Damian scrunched his nose.

“Maybe, but I think we’d go crazy if we didn’t all experience that feeling to some degree. None of us are naive enough to actually believe it, but I suppose it’s a coping mechanism of sorts.”

“I was trained from birth to be above such delusions. I do not fear death.”

Tim needed to pick a new direction.

“Were you scared when you lost your grip on the ladder yesterday?” he asked.

Damian hesitated.

Tim crouched back down in front of him. “And that feeling when we made it into the Batwing and the adrenaline wore off? That’s what Jason’s feeling right now.”

“Oh. I did not like that feeling.”

Tim smiled wearily. “No one does.”

Behind Tim’s back, the grandfather clock opened and Jason stepped out. His eyes were rimmed with red and his hair was a little disheveled, but he looked okay overall.

“Jason! You alright, buddy?” That was something Dick used to ask when he saw Tim upset back when he was still Robin. Despite what he had told Damian, he was a little worried.

“Still alive, can’t complain,” he joked.

Tim’s face fell at the reminder.

“Can I actually ask you a few questions?” Jason followed up quickly.

“Sure, go for it. Dames, can you give us a few minutes?”

“I do not appreciate continuously being sent out of the room.”

Tim remembered that feeling well enough from when he was younger, but the conversation he and Jason were about to have was important.

He smiled and ruffled Damian’s hair affectionately. That was another move stolen from the Dick Grayson handbook on how to handle little brothers. “It won’t be long. Why don’t you go see if Alfred needs help in the kitchen?”

“Fine. But I will not tolerate this treatment henceforth.”

Damian stormed off haughtily and Tim slyly met Jason’s eyes. As soon as he was gone, they both started laughing.

“Cute kid.”

Tim grinned. Damian would hate that.

He let his expression grow serious again. After the bomb that Tim had just dropped, Jason deserved answers.

“What do you want to know?”

“I want you to tell me how it happened.”

Tim was afraid he’d say that.

“You know this isn’t a happy story.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, I just… I need to know.”

“Okay.” Tim could understand that. “You might want to sit down,” he offered, waiting for Jason to collapse into one of the study’s chairs.

“From what I know, Jason and Bruce had been fighting. When Jason found out about his mother being alive, he went to Ethiopia, just like you. Except, no one stopped him from reaching his destination. He met her, and she sold him out to the Joker.”

Jason inhaled steeply.

“She… She did that?” he whispered.

“Yeah.”

Tim gave him a minute to process.

“Do you want to hear the rest?

He nodded. “Please.”

“From what I understand, the Joker tied both of them up in a warehouse and then tortured Jason with the crowbar. The explosion went off before Bruce could get there.”

Jason put his head in his hands.

“And what happened after? With Bruce?”

“He… didn’t react well. He became violent, beating criminals hard enough to send them to the hospital. Nearly killed a few of them. I think he might have had a death wish.”

“Okay.” Jason paused, running his fingers through his hair a couplet times and looking back up. “Okay. What changed?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, obviously he got better. He kept adopting children,” he said, gesturing at Tim. “Besides, you knew who Damian was, which means there’s probably a Damian there too. Am I wrong?”

Tim shook his head. It was so easy to forget how observant Jason was. 

“Then what changed?” he asked again.

Tim sighed. “Batman needs a Robin. I knew it back then, and it’s held true all these years.”

“Wait. I died and Bruce just decided to find the nearest willing orphan?”

“No,” Tim snorted. “I figured out Batman and Robin’s identities when I was nine. I used to follow them around Gotham and take pictures. When Bruce turned violent, I tracked Dick down and asked him to come be Robin again. Him and Bruce had been fighting too. He turned me down, but he agreed to go back to Gotham and talk to Bruce.”

“Okay, so Dickie managed to talk some sense into Bruce.” Jason’s shoulders slumped with relief.

“No, it didn’t work,” Tim said. “I tried to get Bruce to let me be Robin, but he said no. The two of them managed to get captured by Two-Face though, so I put on an old Robin suit and went to save them.”

“Why is this so convoluted? How old were you even?” Jason’s voice was incredulous.

“Thirteen. After that, I told him I was going to be Robin.”

“And he let you? Just like that?”

“That implies he had a choice in the matter.”

Jason covered his face with his hands.

“I died, and Bruce got violent, so you bullied him into making you Robin?”

“Essentially, yes.”

Jason rested his elbows on the desk and started massaging his temples.

“What the  _ fuck.” _

“If it helps, Jason came back to life. He crawled his way out of his grave, so Damian’s mom dropped him in a Lazarus Pit. He tried to kill me a couple times, but he’s been making a lot of improvement lately.”

_ “Why _ would that help?” Jason shrilled.

Tim shrugged. It wasn’t often that Tim didn’t know what to do or say to get the result he wanted. When it did happen, his panic response kicked in and he’d start info-dumping.

Objective: Make Jason feel better.

Plan: ????

Solution: Try everything.

_ ‘Okay, Tim. Think your way through this.’  _ If you ignore everything else, the base of the problem was that Tim said something that hurt Jason. Obvious solution? Apologize. It didn’t feel obvious though. It wouldn’t actually fix anything, but Tim didn’t know what else to do.

He was jarred out of his thoughts by Jason waving a hand in front of his face.

“Anybody home?”

“Sorry!” Tim blurted out.

“Dude, chill, you just got lost in thought. It happens.”

“No. I mean I’m sorry about what I said. If I had just taken a moment to think about what I was saying, I would have known better than to say it.”

“It’s fine. I mean, this means you basically saved my life yesterday.” Jason bumped Tim’s shoulder with his own, offering a small smile. “Thanks for that.”

Huh. That actually worked.

“No offense, Tim, but it sounds like your universe kind of sucks.”

Tim was a bit startled by that. “How so?”

Jason sighed and shook his head. “Nevermind. Let’s go see if lunch is ready.” He started moving towards the door.

“Actually, go on without me. I should probably touch base with Bruce first.”

“Alright, but I'll tell you the same thing I told Bruce. If you’re not done by the time lunch is ready, I’ll come drag you two up, so be quick.”

Tim waved him off and turned towards the grandfather clock.

He was surprised that this conversation had been put off so long. Did Bruce himself not say that he would ‘detain and question’ him upon arrival? He supposed that there had been so much going on that Bruce decided it could wait.

His Bruce never would have done that.

With an ease that spoke of practice, Tim set the clock’s hands and waited for the entrance to open. When he got to the base of the staircase, he saw Bruce hunched over the desk with his head in his hands. Tim let his footsteps become loud enough to hear, and Bruce whipped his head up.

“Tim.”

“Hey, Bruce.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Thank you.”

Tim blinked in shock. He was expecting to get yelled at. He did something wrong, so Bruce should be angry. That was how it worked.

“For…?”

“Tim, you saved my son’s life yesterday. You saved  _ both  _ of their lives. I owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“So, just to be clear, you aren’t angry?” Tim had to double check. This was so unlike the interactions he had with his Bruce.

“Of course not.” There was something in his eyes that Tim couldn’t discern. “While you’re down here, we need to discuss your situation.”

“I don’t know what happened. The last thing I remember is patrolling Gotham, but it’s all a little hazy. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in a League base with Damian. I pretty much grabbed him and got out of there as fast as I could.”

“You said you’ve had experience with Ra’s. Do you know what he wants?”

“No, but he’s already underestimated me once.” Tim smirked. “He won’t be making that mistake again.” 

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I left a little surprise for him. And by that, I mean I completely wrecked the League’s systems. It’ll take him a bit to recover from that.”

Bruce looked a little impressed.

Tim couldn’t stop the grin that broke across his face and the small giggle he let out. This reminded him of the days when he was Robin. Back before… well, everything.

Bruce’s eyes were soft, and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards with amusement.

Tim was overwhelmed with a feeling of longing. He had missed this. These days, Bruce seemed to disapprove of every step he took. He was right, of course. Tim hadn’t been good enough for his parents, and he certainly wasn’t good enough for Bruce.

That didn’t stop the feeling.

“Like I was saying earlier, I’ll have to go back in and have a conversation with Ra’s.”

Bruce’s face tightened. “I told you no.”

“Why do you care?”

Before Bruce could answer, they were interrupted by the roar of a motorcycle entering the cave.

It was Dick, clad in the Nightwing suit.

He climbed off and began walking over, stretching his arms about his head with a yawn.

“Hey, guys. You wouldn’t  _ believe _ the mission I just had.”

He stopped abruptly when he saw Tim.

“Wait. Who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Communication? In my fic? It's more likely than you think.
> 
> If you liked it, leave a comment! I love interacting with you guys in the comments. What'd you like? What'd you hate? What are you excited for?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **25 February 2016**
> 
> I'm back! This chapter really fought me when I was writing it, but it's done now and I hope it helps if anyone's feeling too stressed about the election and needs some batfam banter/fluff.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

“So let me get this straight,” Dick said. “I left for a week, and you decided to adopt two more children.”

Jason pointed helpfully at the younger one. “That one’s not adopted. That’s bona fide mother nature right there.”

Dick scrubbed a hand over his face. “Thank you, Jason,” he sighed.

The manor’s inhabitants had relocated to the dining room to have this discussion. Alfred was in the kitchen, but he would be bringing lunch out any minute.

“Tim is not adopted either,” Bruce clarified. “He’s a guest.”

“Well, maybe not by you specifically, but—” Jason’s eyes sparkled. “Wait, you’re telling me I figured it out before you?” His chair screeched against the floor as he stood up abruptly and pointed a finger directly at Bruce. “Who’s the World’s Greatest Detective now!?” he cackled with glee.

Alfred then entered the room carrying a large tray of soups, bread, and sandwiches. “Master  _ Jason," _ he reprimanded.

“Sorry, Alfie.” Jason sat down sheepishly.

After relieving his burden onto the table, Alfred whisked himself back to the kitchen. Dick had spent years trying to get Alfred to join them for meals, but he still only relented on special occasions.

As entertaining as this was, Dick was still confused. Trying to get the conversation back on track, he interjected. “Jason, what do you mean?”

Jason tore off a piece of bread with his teeth, chewing and swallowing quickly. “Tim told me he used to be Robin in his universe. I mean, the adoption thing was pretty obvious given everything we know about him,” he gestured at Tim, “but the Robin thing confirms it.”

Everyone was startled by that for a different reason.

“What do you mean  _ 'his  _ universe’?”

“So this means we have a claim to Timothy?”

“Gee, way to out me like that, Jason.”

Jason seemed to enjoy the chaos he had caused, but they all quieted when Bruce raised a commanding hand.

“Tim. Is this true?”

“Technically, yes, but it was more of a situational thing. The other Bruce had become my guardian so that I could keep being Robin after my mom died and my dad was stuck in a coma. When my dad died, the adoption was expected of us.”

Dick’s instinct was to say something to comfort him, but Jason put a hand on his arm and leaned over to whisper into his ear. “He says things like that sometimes. Concerning that he thinks stuff like that is normal? Sure, but you can’t let it derail the conversation.”

“I emancipated myself a year later so I could become CEO of WE to prevent Ra’s from executing a hostile takeover,” Tim continued. “Really, the adoption didn’t mean anything.”

And yeah, Dick could see what Jason meant.

Bruce apparently hadn’t been given the same tip because he zoned in on that statement. “Where was your version of me when this happened?” he frowned.

“Oh, he was stuck in the timestream. I had to spend a few months figuring out what happened to him because everyone else thought he was dead. The takeover was Ra’s’ response to me destroying his systems the first time.”

Again, that was something Dick wanted to unpack, but he ignored it.

“In a way, I suppose this makes Timothy our brother as well,” the smaller boy (who was apparently Bruce’s biological son?) reasoned, trying to communicate something to Bruce with his eyes.

Well that was interesting. He clearly wanted Tim to stay in this universe. Tim shied away a bit when the boy said that, so Dick decided to test a theory. He stood up and rounded the table quickly, slinging an arm around each of their necks, grinning. “New little brothers!”

The younger boy immediately tried squirming away, screeching fun things like, “Release me this instant, you pillock!” and “You will not see my revenge coming!”

Tim, on the other hand, froze up the moment Dick made contact. He blinked a few times, staring at the arm hanging from his neck before looking up to meet Dick’s gaze a little lostly. He awkwardly patted Dick’s arm before gently removing it from himself. Dick let him and switched so both of his arms were around the child who was still wriggling around in his chair.

Tim’s reaction was pretty much exactly what Dick had been expecting. He filed that information away for later examination. Dick looked up at Bruce. “Alright, so what’s next?”

“Now that you’re back, that means Zatanna is too. I want you to arrange a meeting at Mount Justice tomorrow. We need to know more about multiverse travel.”

“You got it, Bossman. Z will be happy to help. And hey! This means you can meet the Team,” he said, looking at Tim.

“Yeah!” Jason agreed. “They’re gonna love you.”

“Maybe after we finish eating, we can get to know each other a bit. How do you guys feel about sparring?” Dick ventured.

Tim brightened a bit, but the kid spoke first. “Absolutely not. Timothy’s shoulder is currently injured and will not be fully recovered for weeks.”

“Come on, Damian. It’s really not that bad.”

Damian (and Dick now knew his name) squinted. “You test my patience, Timothy. Your refusal to wear the sling was already an inadvisable decision.”

“You act like it’s unusual to fight with minor injuries. Vigilantes can’t stop fighting just because of a sprained shoulder.” Tim looked around the table for backup.

Bruce’s face was pained. “When you are injured, you should rest until you’re recovered.”

The snort Tim let out made it known that he disagreed. “I regularly fight crime when I’m a lot more injured than this.”

“That really isn’t as comforting as you think it is,” Jason sighed.

Dick didn’t know what to make of them. Tim clearly had no regard for himself and thought that things Dick would have found traumatizing were just a part of life. If the touch aversion was strike one, then this was strike two. He also spoke with a confidence and ease that only came from years of experience. 

That experience was something that Damian desperately tried to replicate. He wanted people to think he was more mature than he should be for his age. It was written in everything he did, from the way he spoke to the way he reacted when Dick tried to hug him. Speaking of that, now that Damian had had a moment to calm down, he was almost imperceptibly relaxed into the arms wrapped around him.

These kids needed some quality down time.

“Okay, then how about we play some board games after lunch? Maybe a movie?”

Bruce winced. “Dick, I don’t think now is the time—”

He bounced over to stick his face in Bruce’s. “Now is the perfect time.” He tried communicating his thoughts with his eyes and a pointed glance at where Tim was sitting stiffly and Damian was hunched over. Years of working together meant that his attempt worked a lot better than Damian’s had earlier.

Bruce nodded his assent. “Okay. After lunch.”

From where he was shovelling food in his mouth, Jason cheered with a fistbump. Tim and Damian both looked hesitant, but Damian’s hesitance was shaded with a cautious optimism.

Dick returned to his seat and carefully began tearing apart his bread, quickly becoming lost in thought at the implications Tim had brought up.

Dick’s musings were interrupted by Damian staring at him. “Tell me your name,” he demanded.

He smiled back across the table. “Call me Dick.”

Damian scowled and began to puff up in his seat, probably thinking Dick was messing with him, but Tim quickly tapped his arm. “His name is Richard Grayson. Dick is a nickname.”

Damian deflated and looked appeased, but now Dick was curious. “How do you know that?”

“I know another version of you back in my universe.”

“Right, you mentioned that. Mind explaining why you’re not in your own universe?”

“I’m not actually sure. I kinda just woke up in a League of Assassins base, saw Damian, and then called Jason for an evac.”

That sounded like an extremely edited version. “I feel like you left out a lot just now,” he said, concerned.

Tim only shrugged so Dick turned to make eye contact with Bruce. Bruce simply told him, “We’ll talk later.”

That’s probably for the best. 

Taking advantage of the lull in the conversation, Damian circled back. “Explain why you have chosen to be called ‘Dick.’ It is not an appropriate name for someone of your status.”

Dick blinked slowly.

Jason laughed. “Yeah,  _ Dick,  _ what’s up with the name?”

“It’s— I mean—” He looked somewhat desperately at Bruce. “Please don’t let them do this.”

Tim let loose a small smile for the first time since Dick had got here. “Well I, for one, think it matches his personality,” he joked.

Dick switched gears. This was something he was good at. He’d never shied away from being the butt of the joke so he could make others laugh.

“I am being attacked in my own home. This is outrageous. I am going to pack my rucksack and be gone by morning.”

At this, Jason cut back in. “Gonna go join the circus, Dickie?”

Dick grinned at him. He had been missing his little brother. “If there are any more grievances about how I live my life, give them to me now.”

“Actually,” Jason smirked back, “I believe Tim mentioned something earlier today about ‘scaly underpants’?”

Tim mirrored Jason’s expression. “I believe I did. Dick, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Dick became slightly flustered. “That was  _ one  _ costume design. Bruce made me wear pants anyways, so it  _ doesn’t matter.” _

Jason and Tim seemed to be gearing up for another bout of banter, but Dick wasn’t going to take this lying down. “Come on, it’s not like I’m the only one here who has made questionable decisions. I mean, the dirt I have on Jason alone is frankly—”

“Hey, let’s talk about Tim now!” Jason interrupted, clearly trying to change the subject. “His questionable decision of the day was the coffee—er— _incident_ this morning.”

This was new. “What’s the coffee incident?” he asked.

“Tim just chugged, like, two entire pots of coffee this morning.”

“Please tell me that’s an exaggeration.”

“It is,” Tim said to Dick’s relief, and, “It was more like only a pot and a half,” to Dick’s horror.

“That’s—Tim,  _ no.  _ That’s insane.”

Coffee makes three strikes.

“Guys, it’s really not that big of a deal,” he said irritably.

“Clearly, Timothy cannot be trusted to manage his own health. I propose that I form a taskforce to combat this issue.”

“Damian, that’s really not necessary—” Tim began only to be cut off by Jason.

“I dunno Tim,” he nodded mockingly. “Sounds like a  _ great  _ idea.”

“My taskforce should be able to resolve all future issues. Todd, will you join me?”

_ “No taskforces,”  _ Bruce bit out. Damian frowned for a second before his eyes glinted. Dick swore he could hear him whisper ‘secret taskforce’ before he slowly closed an eye in Jason’s direction in an approximation of a wink.

Jason made a weird expression, clearly trying to hold back laughter, but he pulled himself together and winked back properly at Damian who nodded as if he was taking a mental note on how to do it.

_ ‘This will be interesting.’  _

* * *

Damian had been unbelievably endearing during lunch with his ‘taskforce’ and attempt to wink at Jason. Dick doubted there was a single person at that table that hadn’t seen it. His winks were getting better though. He had had a lot of practice over the course of the game.

The game that Tim was currently winning.

Winning was a bit of an understatement. Tim was  _ inhumanly  _ good at Monopoly. Dick had never seen Bruce lose the game before, and yet, here they were.

Early on in the game, Tim had made an alliance with Damian. This largely meant that Damian was skating on Tim’s success while the rest of them suffered. Dick knew Tim could have easily won without the alliance, which brings him back to the winking. When Damian first proposed the partnership between them, he had tried his hand at his second wink of the day. The sight was adorable, and Damian was clearly Tim’s favorite anyways, so thus began their reign of terror.

“This is unfair,” Dick pouted. “The point of playing Monopoly was so we could all lose to Bruce  _ together.” _

Jason wasn’t even upset that he was already bankrupt. He was too busy yelling about Dick and Bruce losing.

Bruce was calm. He had seemed a little shocked at first, but had since decided that he didn’t care. Even with his indifference, Bruce was doing leagues better than Dick or Jason.

They had also convinced Alfred to join them in the gameroom, although he had opted out of playing.

Once more, it was Dick’s turn to roll the dice. He blew on them lightly and rubbed them between his hands for luck. Tim had built hotels around half the board, so Dick was in a very precarious position.

With one final shake, he tossed the dice into the center of the board.

Tim smiled.  _ Boardwalk.  _ Dick had been so close.

“Two-thousand.”

“Please don’t do this, Tim. I have a family.”

“Tough luck, pay up,” he said ruthlessly.

“This is all I have left. How will I feed the children?”

Jason, who was hanging upside-down on the couch, laughed at his misfortune.

Damian stood up. “Fulfill your debt, Grayson, or I will be forced to collect it through more unsavory means.”

Tim was sitting smugly on a pillow with his legs crossed. He hadn’t even had to move from his seated position throughout the game, he just let Damian collect for him. He even gave Damian permission to use force if necessary. Dick thought it had been a joke. Damian had not.

Dick flopped back onto the floor with a single hand holding the last of his savings up for Damian to grab. “Avenge me, Bruce.”

He couldn’t see the board from where he was, but he heard the clatter of the dice rolling. “Sorry, chum. It seems like this is the end for Wayne Enterprises.”

Dick wailed.

“I concede victory to Timothy. You are the superior monopolist.”

“Aw, thanks, Dames. Anyone up for a second round?”

He sat back up and pointed a finger at Tim. “Why are you so good at that? Bruce is an  _ actual  _ CEO.”

“So am I, remember?” Tim said as he bagged up the pieces.

“Yeah, but Bruce has been doing it for years.”

“I was trained by my parents from a young age to take over the family business. My dad drove it into the ground once my mom died, but the experience translated pretty smoothly. Besides, Bruce is barely a CEO. Lucius does all the work.”

Alfred agreed with Tim. “Yes, Master Bruce has always been rather preoccupied with his nightlife.”

Still upside-down, Jason joined the discussion. “Not to be insensitive or anything, but I thought your dad was in a coma and then died.”

“Oh yeah, that was a separate incident. He woke up for a bit before he was stabbed with a boomerang.”

Ignoring that, Bruce asked, “What business were your parents in?”

“Drake Industries. I looked it up this morning, it should still exist in this universe.”

Dick cut back in. “Drake Industries? As in Jack and Janet Drake, one of Gotham’s richest families?”

“Yep, that’s them.”

“Every time you answer a question about your life, I somehow understand less,” Dick sighed.

Really, for all that Tim was forthcoming about who he was, Dick had a feeling that he was leaving out the most important parts. Not to mention the frankly wild and traumatic events he sprinkled into conversation randomly.

Suddenly tired, he added, “Come on, let’s go pick out a movie to watch.”

Herding everyone into the in-home theatre took some work, but they managed it eventually.

Bruce and Alfred had graciously decided to let the four of them pick out what to watch, but then Jason had left to help Alfred make popcorn, so it was down to Dick, Tim, and Damian. Dick excitedly started listing animated films. He was looking forward to seeing Damian’s reactions to some of these.

“Star Trek,” Tim interrupted with confidence.

“Really, Timmy? Not even going to let me list them out?”

“No, I’m sure.”

“Timothy, what is ‘Star Trek’?”

“You’re gonna love it, Dames. It’s an epic franchise that tells stories about the voyages of a spaceship and its crew. They travel around the universe to explore new worlds. It’s absolutely imperative that you watch it.”

“That is acceptable. Grayson, make it so.”

Damian had already liked Tim, but Tim’s total victory at Monopoly had caused him to hang onto his every word. Dick had lost this battle before it had even begun. Given the way Tim stuck his tongue out at Dick when Damian’s back was turned, he had already known that.

When Jason, Alfred, and Bruce came back, they were ladened with popcorn and pizza. Apparently Alfred had foreseen that they wouldn’t have time for dinner and had ordered ahead. Seeing as Alfred almost never kept this kind of food in the manor, this was a real treat.

By the time the movie was over, Damian was already valiantly fighting a losing battle to keep his eyes open. Everyone else simply sat around chatting for a few minutes before Damian’s head finally thumped onto Tim’s shoulder.

Tim smiled slightly. “Alright, everyone, I’m gonna take the gremlin to bed. See you tomorrow.” Being careful not to jostle Damian too much, Tim scooped him up and carried him out.

The remaining four worked on cleaning up the plates and trash. Dick and Jason made a game out of trying to shoot popcorn into each others’ mouths, much to Alfred’s consternation.

When they were all ready to split ways, Bruce tapped his shoulder to hold him back.

“What’s up? Wait, you aren’t actually planning on going out tonight, are you?”

“No, but I thought you might appreciate being caught up on what’s happened when you were gone,” Bruce said with a small smile. “Let’s go talk in the study.”

Bruce explained the situation to the best of his ability, but there really wasn’t much to go off.

“Do you really think Zatanna will be able to help? Multiverse travel may be a bit out of her wheelhouse.”

Bruce sighed. “Multiverse travel is rare. From what I’ve gathered, it’s more common in Tim’s universe than it is here. I don’t know.”

That was something Bruce would never admit in front of the others.

“Hey, we’ll figure it out.” He lightly punched Bruce’s shoulder with a smile. “We always do.”

Bruce’s shoulders lost tension for a only a second before tightening back up. “Damian wants to keep Tim here. He doesn’t think Tim’s universe is very kind to him.”

“I’m sure you noticed how little he ate today.” That was something that had been bothering Dick, but he didn’t think Jason or Damian had noticed.

“Yes.”

“Then what do you think?”

“I think it’s not my decision. If he wants to go back, I will help him.”

“And what if we can convince him to stay?”

Bruce’s voice was quiet. “I can’t let myself get attached.”

“You like him,” Dick teased. “You’re a serial adopter at this point, you know that?”

Bruce sighed again. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, thanks for reading! I can't believe I stayed in one POV this whole chapter wow
> 
> As always, leave me a comment, tell me what you loved, what you hated, etc, etc.
> 
> Now, this was not the intention for this chapter, and I'm not entirely sure how to embed images here, but just imagine the monopoly draw the squad meme. Tim and Damian obviously making it rain, Jason yelling, Alfred crying, Bruce in jail, and Dick miraculously both crying on the board and screaming in the back.
> 
> Some people have also been asking me for some fic recs similar to this trope, so I'll add those into the fic end notes either today or tomorrow if anyone's interested.
> 
> Lastly, I'm really excited for next chapter, so stay tuned ;)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **26 February 2016**
> 
> Fair warning: This chapter hasn't been betaed yet so any mistakes are my own.
> 
>  **EDIT:** I can't believe I have to say this, but if you don't like the fic, then don't read it. There has been an individual leaving long comments about how much they hate my story, and most of their points aren't even applicable to this fic. I've gone through and deleted all their comments. If you interacted with this individual in the comments, I am really sorry, but I deleted your responses to them as well. And if for whatever reason, you are reading this fic still and you hate it, then don't leave a comment.
> 
> Constructive criticism is more than welcomed. Senseless fic bashing is not.
> 
>  **EDIT 2:** They left another comment so shout out to the Liminal Spaces discord and anyone else who commented on the thread for defending me and the fic <333
> 
>  **EDIT 3:** Comment moderation has been turned on now, I might try turning it back off in a few days though. I still love hearing from you guys and interacting with you, so don't worry about the moderation! I'll pretty much approve anything except for hate comments.

It was quiet when they got suited up to go meet Zatanna.

Tim wasn’t sure where the tension came from, but everyone else kept meeting each others’ eyes. That most likely indicated it had something to do with him. Everything had been fine last night. That meant either new information had come up since he’d last seen them, or there was something about the meeting that they were focused on.

He didn’t ask what it was, and they didn’t mention it.

Only Dick, Jason, and Tim were going today, but everyone was in the cave. That probably had something to do with the mysterious tension.

Dick stood up and broke the silence. “Alright, everyone ready?” There was a forced lightness to his voice.

“As I’ll ever be,” Tim said with one corner of his mouth hesitantly upturned. If Zatanna didn’t have answers, the journey back to his universe would be that much harder.

“Don’t worry,” Jason reassured, slinging an arm over Tim’s shoulders. “It’ll be fine.”

All of Tim’s attention was caught by the casual contact, but he didn’t have much time to focus on it because Jason started leading him over to a platform in the corner of the cave.

“Aren’t we going to Mount Justice?”

“Yeah, we’re just using the Zeta tubes.”

That didn’t track. “What are Zeta tubes?”

Jason stopped, spinning to face Tim. “You guys don’t have Zeta tubes? It’s how we get around. There are tubes in most major cities and Justice League bases. We can use this one to teleport to Mount Justice.”

“We have a few teleporters, but those are mostly used for getting to the Watchtower and back. The main issue is energy consumption, how did you guys work around that?”

Dick finally made his way over to where they were standing, chuckling. “We can talk nerd later. Right now, we’ve got a meeting to get to.” He started typing something into a panel. “Get over here and let this scan your biometrics.”

Tim did so and then they stepped into the tube as a group. In a flash of light, they were in Mount Justice, a robotic voice announcing them. The interior layout was completely different from the one his team had used in his universe. The Zeta tube placed them in what looked like a common area. There were a few teens playing a racing game with their backs turned toward them and a kitchen off to the right.

“Hey, guys!” Dick called out.

“One second! I’m just about done making everyone eat my dust,” a familiar voice said.

There was a small scuffle on the couch before the player in the upper right corner of the screen crossed the finish line, closely followed by two others. Player Four appeared to have given up.

“Cheater!” The person making the accusation was very obviously green and very obviously Garfield Logan.

The girl who had won stood up and stretched. “Not my fault I’m better,” she teased.

Tim’s heart skipped a beat. That was  _ Cassie. _ He probably should have expected to see some of his teammates here, but he was still shocked.

“Come on, ese, you have got to stop doing that,” Jaime said, laughing.

Cassie stuck her tongue out at them.

Rounding out the quartet of gamers was Kon. “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming in today.”

Tim thought he was going to start choking. He couldn’t stop staring at the four of them. He had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

* * *

Cassie didn’t consider herself a cheater. She just took advantage of her resources. If that meant elbowing her opponents so she could slide into first place, then so be it.

They all got up to greet the newcomers when the game finished. There was Nightwing, Robin, and a third, unknown figure. He was decked out in full vigilante gear, cape and all. His eyes were covered by a mask, but his hair was black and kind of floppy just like Robin’s and Nightwing’s, and his facial features were delicate.  _ ‘Kind of cute,’  _ she thought.

Beside her, Conner made a weird choking sound. Judging from the light blush on his face, Conner thought he was cute too.

Nightwing stepped forward to answer the question. “We have a consultation with Zatanna, but I don’t think she’s here yet.”

Robin piped up behind him. “Yeah, Red here is on loan from another universe. We need to figure out how to get him back.”

‘Red’ was staring pretty intently at them, but it was a little hard to tell because of the mask.

“Nice to meet you, Red. Wanna try your hand at dethroning the master?” she asked, holding out a controller.

That seemed to shake him out of his funk because he swiped the controller from her. “You’re on.”

They started up a new game, this time Conner switched out for Tim. She knew Conner didn’t care that much about the game to begin with. Although his blush had faded, she kept an eye out for any more prime teasing material.

Right out the gate, Red was neck and neck with them. Her, Gar, and Jaime spent a not insignificant time playing so they were all pretty good. She resigned herself to using the same tactics she had the previous round. Luckily, she was sitting right next to him.

She waited until the final lap to try her signature move: slamming into the person next to her with her shoulder. The superstrength made it very effective. Before she made contact though, the guy had jumped up and balanced in a crouch on the back of the couch. He kicked his foot out, hitting her hand and causing the controller to jostle around. Red passed her straight across the finish line.

“Argh! How’d you know I was gonna do that?”

“Way to go!” Jaime cheered.

Gar whooped. “You dethroned the cheating queen!”

“I’m used to your ‘tactics.’ Alternate universe, remember?”

She stood up. “Time out, you actually know us over there?”

“Yeah.” He snorted. “Well enough to know not to stay in reach of your elbows when you’re losing.”

Cassie giggled. “Fair enough.”

“Good job,” Conner smiled at him.

“Thanks, Kon.”

“Er—Kon?”

“That’s your name isn’t it? Kon-el?”

“No. My name’s Conner. Kent.”

Red looked thoughtful at the new information, but any response he might have given was cut off by the Computer announcing Zatanna’s entrance.

“Sorry I’m a bit late, guys.”

Nightwing went to greet her. “No worries. Shall we?” He gestured off in the direction of some of the private lounge rooms.

The four of them started walking. “Come back for a rematch!” she called after them. “I’ll get you next time.”

He waved a hand behind him. “You wish.”

They went out of sight and Cassie waited a few beats before leaping over to Conner.

“You think he’s cute,” she teased.

“What—I, no—I mean—I don’t have to say anything.”

“I dunno, that was very defensive,” Jaime chimed in.

“Yeah, dude. He’s cute, you should go for it,” Gar added.

Conner shook his head. “All of you are crazy. Did you miss the part where he’s from another universe that he needs to get back to? I don’t even know anything about him.”

“We know,” she said, softly laughing. “We’re just teasing you. It’s not often we get to see you flustered like this.”

“Yeah, okay,” Conner chuckled. “Come on, let’s find another game to play.

“Hold on,” Gar said. “You’re not going to even  _ try  _ to listen in? You have super hearing!”

Conner clearly wanted to object but his curiosity won out. He closed his eyes and began straining his ears.

“Nothing. Nightwing probably set up a white noise generator to block me out.”

Gar groaned. “Darn, I really wanted to hear that.”

Cassie was curious too. Maybe she’d mention it if they got Red to come back for that rematch.

* * *

Once they were in a private room, Dick explained what had happened. At the end, he asked Zatanna if she could help.

Zatanna winced. “I don’t know much about multiverse travel, actually. Considering the hold our universe has on us, there’s not much of it here.”

“Hold on us?” Jason interjected. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a little hard to explain. The average person’s understanding of what a universe is tends to be a little skewed.”

“Give it a shot?” Dick asked.

She took in a breath. “The best way I can describe it is that universes all have some degree of sentience.”

That raised so many questions. “And what does that mean?” Tim asked.

“Each universe has a different temperament or personality that influences the actions of its inhabitants. Some of them, like this one, want their inhabitants to succeed.” She frowned. “Judging from your aura, you come from a more sadistic universe.”

Tim was confused. “That doesn’t make any sense. My world isn’t exactly paradise, but that doesn’t make it evil.”

“I didn’t say it was evil. I said it was sadistic. It’d be impossible for you to have come from an evil universe seeing as they tend to kill their inhabitants very quickly.”

“Okay, then my universe is neutral at worst. It probably just looks bad to you because you’re used to actual paradise,” he said, gesturing around.

Jason muttered something under his breath, looking deep in thought.

“What’d you say?” Tim asked.

Jason looked startled. “It’s—uh—a poem I like. ‘The Robin’s my Criterion for Tune.’ The Robin bit is probably why it caught my attention, but I feel like the message is applicable here.”

“And what’s that?” Dick encouraged.

“Well, the poem goes, ‘The Robin’s my Criterion for Tune, because I grow where Robins do. But, were I Cuckoo born, I’d swear by him.’ There’s a few more verses, but that’s the important part. It’s basically saying how our experiences shape the way we perceive the world and our standards for life. Tim has lived his life holding everything against his universe’s standards, but then he comes here and we must seem, well, Cuckoo.”

“Right.” Tim said, pressing a fist to his chin in thought and starting to pace. “Neither standard is wrong, per say. They’re just how we cope with our experiences. I see this world and can’t help but think everyone is too soft, but you guys would probably think mine is messed up.”

“Er—no offense, dude, but your universe  _ is _ messed up,” Jason commented.

Tim continued thinking out loud. “Okay, then what are the implications here about free will? Zatanna, you said the universes influence our actions. How far does that go?”

“It’s nothing extreme,” she responded. “It’s just little nudges here and there. The influences can’t make you do something you don’t want to do. The real problem is that all those little nudges can add up into something bigger.”

“So what kind of ‘nudges’ can they give,” he asked, stopping his pacing and meeting her eyes.

“Little things like decision making. If someone is presented with two reasonable options, the universe might influence them according to the universe’s temperament. This one, for example, tends to nudge towards safety or success.”

He started holding this knowledge up to everything he knew about this universe. Two days should have been long enough for him to notice some of them discrepancies compared to his universe.

“Damian,” he realized.

“What about Damian?” Dick inquired.

“When I first got here, I woke up in that base with Damian. I tried convincing him to come with me to meet B, and he did. I thought it was way too easy, but I just chalked it up to his age.” He turned toward Zatanna. “Is that the kind of thing they can influence?”

“Absolutely. If he was given a choice between coming with you to safety or staying with dangerous people, the universe might have intervened a bit. Maybe by getting him to trust you quickly or convincing him that he really wanted to meet Batman.”

Jason looked up suddenly. “By that same line of thinking, the universe saved me. When you called, I thought you were B, and I was gonna ignore it. And yet, I picked up anyway and completely rerouted my plans for two strangers on a whim.”

“Z said the little nudges accumulate into larger effects. Neither of those decisions were outlandish, but just think of what would have happened if Damian or Jason chose the other way,” Dick mused.

He was right. If Damian had ratted him out, he would probably still be locked down in the League base and Damian would still be living that life. If Jason hadn’t answered the call or come to get them, they might not have escaped, and Jason would be dead.

Tim turned his thoughts to his own universe. How many of the decisions others made that hurt him were because of an outside influence? Was there a way to save them from said influence? Could he even blame them for hurting him? His mind raced with questions, but he shoved them down. He could spiral later. Right now, he had to gather information.

He flipped the switch from Tim to Red Robin. “What did you mean when you said the universe had a hold on us?”

Zantanna considered the question for a second. “This universe wants us to succeed and be happy, right? Taking a cog out of the machine would disrupt things. For example, you’ve only been here two days, and yet, people here would already be affected by your absence. More than that though, the universe wants  _ you  _ to be happy too. It knows that your best chances are here. Think of it like a mother protecting her cubs in a way.”

“So the universe would be reluctant to let anyone go, including me. Then how do I get back?”

She sighed. “I’m not entirely sure. Like I said, the universe’s hold means that there’s not a lot of travel in or out. Your best bet would be to find out how you got here and go from there.”

Tim nodded. His original assumption had been correct. He’d need to confront Ra’s and figure that out. He smirked. Wouldn’t be the most impossible task he’d ever set out to do.

“Thanks for your help,” he said, spinning on his heel and walking out quickly.

“You’re welcome?” she responded behind him, a little confused.

“Wait, Tim, where are you going?” Jason called, chasing him while Dick stayed back with Zatanna.

“I have plans to make.”

“Well then don’t just run off on your own. Let us help you,” he pleaded.

“I can do this alone.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Y’know, this whole time, I’ve been trying to figure out why everyone’s trying to help me. Now I know. It’s because you don’t have a choice.” This was a free pass for Jason. He could stop helping and no one would be upset. So why wasn’t he taking it?

“Tim, you absolute dummy. Why can’t you accept that we might care about you?” There was something desperate in Jason’s eyes.

Tim thought about the most important people in his life up to this point. His parents always saw him as an asset. They didn’t care for him beyond his role as their puppet. Bruce wanted him to be perfect. Just like his parents, Tim was nothing more than a tool for him. Dick had always claimed they were brothers, but the second a new, shiny little brother showed up, he was discarded like trash. His other two ‘brothers’ regularly tried killing him and no one cared. At least they were upfront about their feelings.

Other faces flashed through his head. Stephanie and every hateful word she spewed, Alfred and his undying loyalty to everyone but him, Bart and Cassie and Kon and every time they told him they liked the old Tim better.

“Because no one has before!” he shouted without intending to.

Jason looked taken about and pulled him into the nearest room, shutting the door behind them. “You really can’t mean that.”

“I can.” He clenched his fists, but his head was then filled with images of gentle touches and small smiles.  _ Cass.  _ His sister loved him, he knew that. His fists unclenched. “Everyone except…”

“Except who?”

“I have a sister. Her name is Cassandra.”

“Tell me about her?” Jason asked.

Tim pressed his back to the wall and slid down to a seated position. “She’s the best. She has this way of always knowing exactly what you need her to do. She loves ballet and laughter and hugs.”

Jason sat down next to him. “She sounds amazing.”

“She is. I’m actually her favorite brother,” he said a little braggingly.

“Okay. Then I promise we’ll get you home to Cassandra. But until then, we’ll just have to keep you safe for her.

Tim could live with that.

“Alright,” he said. “That’s enough of my baggage for the day. What about you?”

“Uh—what do you mean?”

“We talked about it a bit yesterday, but there’s still a lot to unpack. The whole situation with your mom? I know you still want to meet her.”

Jason wrapped his arms around his knees. “Yeah.” His voice was soft. “I do.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“What? You don’t think it’s dangerous? Not even going to try to talk me out of it?”

Tim bumped his shoulder lightly. “We both know it’d only be a matter of time before you get restless and go track her down. You want answers, I get it. I just want to make sure that, when you find her, you’re prepared and you bring backup.”

“I guess that makes sense. And you’re right,” he added bemusedly, “I was already thinking about trying again. Seems like I’m no longer just an idiot. I’ve downgraded to being a predictable idiot.”

“I don’t think it’s dumb at all. I think you deserve to know who she is. I think you deserve to find answers.”

He barely got that last sentence out before Jason was burrowed into his side, his arms wrapped around Tim’s waist and his face pressed into his chest. 

Tim had a weird relationship with touch. Sometimes, he’d have no problem with it, like when he ruffled Damian’s hair or gave Jason a friendly bump on the shoulder. Other times, like when someone would wrap an arm around him, he would freeze up. In this case, Tim didn’t even have to think before he hugged Jason back, pressing Jason tighter against him. He supposed the difference was intent. All he felt while hugging Jason was protective, and maybe a bit of easily ignored discomfort, because this hug was for Jason. If someone was to hug Tim for Tim’s sake though, he’d probably have a small freakout.

“We’ll figure it out,” he soothed to Jason’s shaking form. “I promise.”

* * *

That night, Tim lay awake in bed thinking about everything.

There were so many implications. How much can the temperament of a universe change outcomes? Can anyone in a ‘sadistic universe,’ as Zatanna called it, really be held accountable for their actions? Or does the very existence of alternate selves who thrive create evidence about the nature of a person?

Is there any such thing as self-determinism?

Tim shook that thought from his mind. Zatanna said the influences were minor. They couldn’t actually make anyone do anything. The fact was that none of that theorizing mattered. The only thing that mattered was what he was going to do about it. Does he not owe it to his world to try to save them from that kind of fate?

Tim couldn’t help but think of the younger, brighter Damian. He couldn’t imagine that Damian would ever hurt him like the original had. On the other hand, he could never imagine the older Damian being as kind or sweet as his Damian. Being the same person, their essence and nature is the same. The only difference there is the environment. People are products of both their nature and their environment. So, he needs to change the environment. 

He covered his face with a pillow and let out a small scream.

What could he do in the face of the universe? It was arrogant to think he could have an effect on such a macro level. Still, he may be able to save those closest to him from a lifetime of suffering. He was sure that simply being made aware of the influences could help them resist. 

Tim decided to table all that thinking for a later date. There were more tangible concerns he had to deal with right now. 

The simplest of the three was the Jason situation. He had a feeling Jason wouldn’t want to bring any of them along, but there was no way Tim would let him go alone. He would have to find someone Jason trusted, but who would follow Jason’s lead. They’d also have to be a capable fighter. Frankly, Tim didn’t know enough about this Jason’s relationships to make a call there. That’s something he’d have to bring up to Jason tomorrow.

His other two problems were rolled into one. He needed to find a way to his universe and his only lead right now was Ra’s. Ra’s, obviously, was the other problem. He wanted Tim for something and that didn’t bode well. It was also only a matter of time before he or Talia came for Damian. Guess that made four problems. And he’d have to do it all with his still-injured arm.

No pressure, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Not sure if anyone caught that, but yes, that last line is a reference to Red Robin #13.)
> 
> Wow. Plot?? Is here?? Wild, man.
> 
> It also took over 16000 words, but Tim has finally met the Team! And I've alluded to it in some of the comments, but I have been soo excited to share my idea of sentient universes. Hope you guys liked that bit.
> 
> The poem Jason references is "The Robin's my Criterion for Tune" by Emily Dickinson. Fun fact: I was planning on using that poem as an analogy for a while, but somehow my brain didn't catch onto the "Robin" bit until this chapter lol.
> 
> Quick note here: Jaime uses 'ese' in this chapter. From my understanding, it is Mexican-Spanish slang similar to 'dude,' and he uses it in the show. However, I am not Hispanic and won't fess to having any in depth knowledge on slang in other languages.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **27 February 2016**
> 
> have fun with this one guys :DD
> 
> this ones for everyone who commented last chapter except for that one sweaty doorknob of a human being, you know who you are
> 
> comment moderation will be turned back off unless they start smth again
> 
> EDIT: ohhhh i forgot to add, i decided on a timeline for this fic. I'll be adding dates to the chapters so you can keep track (these dates are based off the yj cartoon, so if you're familiar, you can probably figure out a few things that are about to happen oop); obviously nothing lines up exactly, most obviously Jason being Robin, but here's the general timeline:
> 
> 2006: Dick's parents die (age 9), becomes Robin (age 10)  
> 2010: the Team forms (Dick is 13), Conner is born  
> 2014: Dick becomes Nightwing (17); Jason becomes Robin (13)  
> 2016, Feb. 24: Tim arrives (he's 17, Dick is 19, Jason is 15, Damian is 9)

Day four was when everything went wrong.

The day started off fine. It wasn’t perfect or anything, but it was alright. After everything he had learned yesterday, Tim hadn’t gotten much sleep that night. There was so much to do and so much to think about, but that didn’t stop him from smiling when Jason and Damian tumbled into his room to tell him breakfast was ready. These feelings of caring and being cared for were both achingly familiar and altogether foreign.

The real problem was when they turned on the news. 

Watching the news while eating breakfast was a Wayne Manor tradition in this universe. It was a nice background noise while everyone was waking up and allowed them to keep a surface level surveillance on the world.

Today, the headline read ‘Drake Industries Heir Missing.’

Four little words turned the day from fine, maybe even good, to dreadful.

Tim didn’t wait for anyone to speak before he was up and moving towards the cave entrance. He should have seen that coming. Ra’s wanted Tim. Why hadn’t Tim realized that he would go after this universe’s Tim? That was sloppy of him.  _ Dangerous. _

He vaguely heard panicked voices behind him, tuning them out as he turned the clock’s hands and walked briskly down the staircase. He would have to go retrieve the other Tim. Tim had already been planning on confronting Ra’s anyhow. This was just accelerating his timeline.

He began suiting up, but Dick grabbed his arm. “Hold on, Tim. We need to talk about this.”

Tim shook Dick’s hand off. “No, I got complacent. I didn’t even think about how my situation affects the other me. I need to go fix my mistake.” He finished pulling on his gloves and strode over to the Batcomputer to pull up the news feed.

Bruce came up behind him. “This says he was taken from his home. That doesn’t make sense. The Drakes have been travelling for months. I checked.”

Tim snorted. “My parents never took me on their expeditions. They left me at home.”

“You think they left him home alone for months? Isn’t this supposed to be the good universe?” Jason asked.

“It is. I used the Batcomputer to check in on him two days ago, remember? That gives us a timeline. He’s been missing for two days maximum. That means someone actually noticed him missing, which is already way better than how I grew up. I’ll need to go find Ra’s to get him back.”

Damian had been quiet so far, but he spoke up then in a small voice. “You think Grandfather had something to do with this.”

“Nothing else makes sense. Bruce, I’m taking the Batwing. I’ll probably be back in a few days,” he said, walking towards the vehicle bay.

“Tim, you can’t just take off like this,” Dick tried to reason.

“Actually, I can. Look, I’m doing it right now.”

“It’s dangerous. Just give us a few minutes to talk about it,” he pleaded.

Maybe they would have talked it out and made a plan if given the chance, but any further discussion was cut off by a loud alert coming from Bruce’s phone. Bruce’s face lost a few shades of color when he read the message.

“Bruce, what’s wrong?” Dick asked.

“The Joker shot Barbara. She’s at Gotham General,” he said blankly.

Tim cursed. “That’s not supposed to happen for months. I thought I had more time!”

He had carefully compared the events of his universe to this one. Using Jason’s death as a reference point meant he should have had time to take care of that before it became a problem. That’s twice in the span of just a few minutes that something happened that he could have prevented, could have stopped entirely, if he had just been  _ better. _

Dick spun around. “You knew about this? Why didn’t you—No, that doesn’t matter right now.” He turned back to Bruce. “You and Jason go after the Joker, I’m going to head over to the hospital.”

Bruce nodded and both he and Jason lurched into motion.

Damian tilted his chin up. “I am a capable fighter. I shall go with.”

Dick looked panicked. “Damian, you can’t—I mean, you can’t go with them. Because I need you with me. At the hospital. To guard Barbara.”

That was probably the best way to handle that situation. Damian would keep arguing if he didn’t think he was being useful.

Tim nodded. “Okay, you guys take care of this, I’ll go get the other Tim.”

Dick took on the same expression he had used when Damian tried to go with Bruce and Jason, which,  _ ‘Rude,’  _ Tim thought. “No, Tim you’re not going.” Dick looked around for backup, but Bruce and Jason were taking off already and Alfred was busy providing support via the Batcomputer. “Okay, this is what we’re doing,” he said, dragging Tim over to the Zeta tube platform and quickly beaming them both through to Mount Justice, giving Tim no time to protest.

“Batgirl’s been shot. Red’s trying to do something stupid, don’t enable him. Conner, you’re in charge,” Dick announced to the startled teenagers before teleporting back to Gotham.

Tim looked over at them. “Hey, guys.”

* * *

Cassie had been giving Conner cooking lessons lately. Apparently, CADMUS hadn’t considered cooking a necessary skill, and no one had thought to teach him since. That made sense considering he hadn’t lived anywhere except for Mount Justice, and teenage superheroes aren’t exactly known for their cooking skills. She wasn’t a great cook, but she knew the basics. No one else was in the common area.

And now the guy from yesterday was back.

And Batgirl had been shot.

And Cassie was pretty sure that was the first time she had ever seen Nightwing’s face without a mask.

There was a lot to process there.

The most pressing of all of that, of course, was the Batgirl bit. “Batgirl’s been shot? Is she okay?” Cassie asked.

“Joker got her. The same thing happened back in my universe and she was paralyzed from the waist down, but she lived.” The guy looked kind of mad at himself.

Conner came up next to her. “And the stupid thing you’re planning on doing?”

“Ra’s al Ghul kidnapped my alternate self. Seeing as it’s my fault, I want to go get him back.”

“Who’s Ra’s al Ghul?” She had never heard that name before, but he had given the name an important weight.

Conner looked at her. “He’s the leader of the League of Assassins. I’m guessing you can tell what they do by the name.”

“Okay, and what does he want to do with your alternate self?”

“I wish I knew. I’m going though, and you can’t stop me.” The guy’s face was serious.

There was something in those words that resonated with her. Something that told her to help him. Nightwing had told them not to enable him though. Did she trust her intuition or her leader more?

“And how exactly are you planning on getting past us? We both have super strength.” Conner raised a very good argument there.

“With the Kryptonite in my belt and years of experience I have sparring with your doubles,” he retorted. That was also a very good argument.

The two options presented to her were to let him go or to stop him. She couldn’t ignore that feeling in her gut though. She chose option three.

“I think we should go with him.” Her intuition was rarely wrong.

“What?” they both said in unison.

“I dunno. I just have a feeling about this. Like something’s telling me it’s the right move.”

Red looked shocked. “I guess the universe is on my side.” A little too poetic for her tastes, but she guessed that was one way of putting it.

Conner disagreed. “Come on, Cassie. We don’t know anything about what we’d be doing, where we’d be going, or who we’d be doing it with.”

Yeah, this wasn’t going fast enough for her liking. “Good point. Counterpoint: he has Kryptonite and we’re going with or without you, so you might as well come and keep an eye on us,” she said cheekily.

He sighed and she took that as agreement. “Great! We can take Sphere. Give us a few minutes to get our stuff. How long do you think this will take?”

The two of them started walking off, leaving Conner behind them. “Hopefully only a couple days. Don’t worry too much, I’ve got plenty of funds if we need to grab anything else.”

“And Mr. Worrywart back there?”

“Eh, it’ll be fine. Something tells me we’ll be able to bring out his more chaotic side.” Red gave a smirk that she matched.

“I think you and I are going to get along great.” Cassie had a good feeling about this.

It didn’t take them long to pack bags and get suited up. They went around to a few rooms and borrowed some clothes for Red from the other members of the Team. Some might call it stealing, but Cassie called it ‘creative foraging.’ The only incident was when they ran into Gar on their way out and he asked where they were going. She brushed it off pretty smoothly, saying she had a family emergency and that the boys were giving her a lift back home. She doesn’t think he bought it completely though, especially with Red’s presence and how they were all suited up, but he let them pass and continued on to the common area.

Cassie didn’t hesitate until they were tossing their bags into Sphere and getting ready to leave. “Are we sure we shouldn’t tell someone that we’re leaving?”

Surprisingly, it was Conner that answered. “If we’re really doing this, telling someone would only give them time to stop us. This way, we have as much time as we can get.” That made sense.

“Okay, but I have to let my mom know that I’m not coming back tonight and that I’m going to miss a few days of school.”

Red looked up. “We can set a message on a delay so she doesn’t worry. It can’t go off until you’re expected to be back though.”

Her mom was going to be so mad about this, but… that seemed like a problem for Future Cassie. Red pulled up a wrist computer like the one Nightwing had and flipped the screen around so it faced her. He turned away to give her privacy while she typed, and then set it up so it would be sent later tonight. Someone would probably notice they were missing by that point anyway, so it didn’t matter.

“Alright, let’s do this,” she said, and they all hopped into Sphere (who was in Super-cycle mode) with Conner at the helm.

“Where are we going?” Conner asked.

“I’m… not entirely sure. My best guess right now is Turkey. We need to find the League of Assassins base that they’re keeping the other me, and I know Ra’s is fond of that one. Even if he’s not in Turkey, we can find the answer there.”

“Turkey it is.” Cassie smiled. This was either going to be one of the best or worst decisions she had ever made. “Hey, if we’re doing this, you might as well give us something to call you other than ‘Red.’”

Sphere lifted off and sped out and away from Mount Justice. There were a few beats of contemplative silence.

“Tim. And the kid we’re going to save is Timothy Drake.”

Conner looked behind at the two of them. “As in that rich kid that went missing?”

“That’s the one.” His tone told her there was a lot to unpack there. Time for a subject change; they could circle back to that later.

“Neat. What’s your favorite color?” she asked. They both looked at her strangely. “What? It’s like a twelve hour flight, and we’ve got a lot of time to kill. Might as well get to know each other before we dive into the personal stuff.”

No one spoke for a moment.

“Yellow,” Tim said. “My favorite color is yellow.”

“Isn’t your name literally Red though?” she asked.

“It’s Red Robin, actually. And the codename is a legacy of sorts. I didn’t pick it.”

“I like gray,” Conner said abruptly.

That didn’t track. “Your favorite color… is gray?”

“Yes. Or maybe silver. I just like the color of the moon,” he smiled.

Okay, that made a bit more sense than just gray. “I would have pegged you as a Red lover,” she poked, adding a teasing lilt to her voice.

He whipped around to glare at her, his face flushed. That would never not be absolutely hilarious.

Tim seemed to miss the whole exchange, reacting instead to her comment. “Are you trying to pick our favorite colors by our costumes? By that line of thinking, your favorite color should be red too,” he said, gesturing at her pants.

Cassie grinned. “Alright, that was dumb of me. My favorite color is blue. Your turn to ask a question.”

“There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to ask. You wouldn’t happen to know a Bart Allen, would you?”

Conner glanced sidelong at Cassie. “I know a Barry Allen. Do you mean him?” That glance probably meant Barry Allen was someone’s civilian name that she didn’t know.

Tim sighed. “No, Bart’s his grandson.”

“As far as I’m aware, Barry doesn’t even have children yet.”

“He wouldn’t. Bart’s a time traveller from the future. It was a longshot, but I had to ask.”

Cassie didn’t know either of them, but she was curious. “Why’s Bart so important?”

Tim hummed. “Remember yesterday how I said I knew you guys? Back when we were younger, Bart, Kon, and I formed our own team. Cassie joined not long after. The four of us used to be pretty close.”

“Used to be?”

“Yeah. Right up until Kon and Bart died, Cassie joined a cult, and I was briefly put in charge of the League of Assassins in my quest to try to prove that Batman was alive.”

Okay. This was fine. Cassie was totally calm and in control.

“I’m… dead?” Conner asked, his voice strangled.

Tim looked panicked. “Shit, I did it again. No, you’re not dead. I mean you were—that is to say,  _ other _ you was, but you’re— _ he’s _ alive again. And so is Bart. And Cassie quit her cult.”

That made her feel a bit better, but still. “Why would I join a cult?”

“It was called the Cult of Conner. They were dedicated to bringing Superboy back to life.”

Conner looked at her weirdly. “I died so you decided to join a cult?”

She threw her hands up. “Well it seems like there was a lot going on at the time! Questionable decisions were being made all around. For example, Tim leading the group of people we’re currently trying to rescue a child from?”

“In my defense, it was mostly just a cover so I could use the League’s resources and then cripple them from the inside.”

“O...kay then,” she said. “Conner, it’s your turn to ask a question.”

He thought for a second. “Why are you in the wrong universe?”

Cassie groaned. “Guys! These are supposed to be fun, getting-to-know-each-other questions.”

Conner shrugged. “You told me to ask a question. I asked one.”

“He has a point,” Tim agreed.

She stood up and pointed a finger at the two of them. “You two aren’t supposed to gang up on me!”

Conner smirked and jerked the controls to the side purposefully, causing her to fall back down. The two of them broke out in snickers.

“Oh, so only you’re allowed to gang up on others?” Tim asked with raised eyebrows.

“Exactly.” She nodded seriously, catching her balance and standing back up. “As is my right as the leader of our little gang.”

Conner squinted at her. “You’re the leader?”

“Obviously. I am the most charismatic and charming of the three of us, after all.”

“Okay, Leader-girl,” Tim laughed. “Sit back down and I’ll tell you guys what happened with Zatanna yesterday.”

* * *

Grayson had a paramour, and she had been harmed by the same person who would have killed Todd if not for Timothy’s intervention. Damian should be out there. Fighting. Protecting his new family.

Grayson had said he would be useful here. He didn’t feel useful though. Sitting in a hard chair in a waiting room was the opposite of useful. 

“Is there an update?” he asked, feeling antsy. Grayson had an earpiece that was feeding him information about Father and Todd’s hunt for the Joker.

“No, Damian. Nothing has happened since the last time you asked thirty seconds ago,” Grayson sighed.

Damian knew that already, but he felt like he had to say something to fill the silence. Grayson looked so worried and his posture had an edge of fear. Damian’s approach wasn’t working to alieve the tension in Grayson’s brow, but there wasn’t much he could do. His short time at Wayne Manor had shown him that his social skills left something to be desired. What he needed was to find someone to model his behavior off, but there was no one here. Only him.

He steeled himself. He would have to be enough.

Since his arrival, he had had a handful of serious conversations. One with Father when they first arrived, the second with Timothy on the first night, and the third on the second day, also with Timothy. Those three conversations were the only references he had for how to act.

Father and Timothy had both leaned down or knelt to Damian’s level. It had made him feel better, so he assumed that was an important step. Seeing as Grayson was taller than Damian, he would have to get taller to be on Grayson’s level. Climbing onto the chair and standing on it would accomplish that.

He nodded to himself. That was a good first step, but he still had to figure out the rest. Father had breathed deeply when he was trying to figure out what to say, so maybe that helped somehow? Damian would have to circle back to that hypothesis. Timothy had seemed to make extra effort to look into his eyes and speak clearly. That would make sense. He added it to his mental list. Father had also made sure to engage in physical contact. Damian didn’t have much experience with that, but he was willing to try. He added that to the list too.

Damian was as prepared as he could be. It was time for action.

Without further contemplation, he stood up on his chair and leaned down towards Grayson. Physical contact would be next, so he grabbed Grayson’s face with both hands. That was a move he had seen Todd do on the second day.

Now was the hard part. Damian breathed in deep and exhaled slowly. Making sure to speak slowly, he asked, “You alright, buddy?” That was what Timothy had said when Todd came back from his conversation with Father. It would most likely be an appropriate thing to say here too.

Grayson was looking at him weirdly, and now his brow was scrunched in an entirely different way. What was Damian missing here? Eye contact! Damian forgot eye contact. He brought Grayson’s face closer to his own and made sure their gazes connected.

“Uh—whatcha doing there, Damian?”

Damian frowned. “I am comforting you. You are being comforted.”

“Okay,” Grayson drawled, genting grabbing Damian’s wrists and pulling his hands away from his face. His tone became softer with his next words. “You’re absolutely right, kiddo. How could I miss something so obvious as your brilliant comforting technique?”

Damian nodded seriously. “It is fine. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Grayson smiled at him and gently guided him back down into his seat. It was then that a woman with a clipboard walked up to them. “You’re here for Barbara Gordon?”

Grayson’s hand clenched so hard his knuckles were turning white as he nodded.

“She’s out of surgery. We’re optimistic that she’ll make it, but her recovery will be long. The bullet grazed her spinal cord, and her legs are currently unresponsive to stimulus. It’s entirely probable that she won’t ever be able to regain function from the waist down.”

Damian didn’t know how to react to that. He had never met the woman, but she seemed to be part of his new family. Grayson looked like he was going to be sick though, so Damian decided to take over. “When will we be permitted to visit her?”

“She’s currently being transferred to another room. For the next couple of days though, only immediate family will be allowed in.” Grayson nodded once more and put his head in his hands. The woman apparently took this as a dismissal because she turned and walked away.

It seemed they were back to where they started. Grayson took one last deep breath and held it for a few seconds before he discreetly pressed a button on his earpiece and started relaying information.

Halfway through the relay, there was a small beeping noise coming from the earpiece. Grayson frowned. “Hold on, someone else is trying to contact me.” He pressed another button.

“Oh, hey, Gar.”

He paused, listening to the other person.

“No, Red is supposed to stay at Mount Justice.”

Another pause.

_ “I’m sorry, they did what?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oop
> 
> a lot happened this chapter,, 
> 
> so uhh hope you enjoyed!
> 
> broke: core four with cassie and/or tim basically babysitting kon and bart  
> woke: they are all chaotic dumbasses that have a rotation system as to who gets the brain cell
> 
> (also im not sure if anyone noticed, but the title of this fic makes sense as of last chapter)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Feb 27 MST, Feb 28 TRT**
> 
> Hey gang! I know it’s been a little longer than I usually take to update, but finals are just around the corner and I’ve been balancing that with a small case of writer’s block. Nevertheless, I am back. Updates will slow down a little over the next couple weeks because of school, but this is not a hiatus. This chapter is also a wee bit shorter than usual, but it made sense with the flow of the story, so I don’t want to add a filler scene just to hit a certain word count.
> 
>  **Trigger Warnings:** Canon-typical violence, references to Jason’s death, and Jason’s potty mouth
> 
> I’m a little worried about the violence trigger in the first section, so I’ll put a summary of the first section in the end notes just in case. There’s nothing actually graphic here I don’t think, but I’d rather just be safe. Stay safe, loves!

The ride in the Batmobile was silent. Bruce was never a big talker, but this was different.

This felt dangerous.

Bruce’s face was carved of marble. Stony with a cold, detached anger. Passive in a way that felt full of promise. Full of regrets. Full of finality.

Jason knew he should say something, but what could he possibly say? This wasn’t something he could joke away.

The Batmobile pulled up next to Barbara’s apartment building. Sirens screamed and his heartbeat pounded as they jumped out and lept quickly up the stairs. Emergency services had already secured the scene, but one look at Batman was all they needed to spring out of their way.

There was blood splattered on the floor. Jason had seen plenty of crime scenes before, more crime scenes than someone his age had any right to see. He was familiar with death even before he was Robin, had already seen what can happen both as a child and as a hero. This was different. This was  _ Barbara. _

Apparently, Bruce found nothing of interest because he turned around and walked right back out, not even checking to make sure Jason was following.

Jason jogged up to his side. “I know you’re worried. I’m worried too, but—”

Bruce looked at him blankly. “He’s not going to hurt anyone else.”

_ That  _ did not sound good. Bruce climbed back into the Batmobile and Jason had to scramble to get in before he took off without him.

Alfred’s voice rang out in his ear. “The Joker has been sighted. I have sent the location.” True to his word, a red blip appeared on the Batmobile’s digital map. Bruce pressed his foot down on the gas, and they sped through the city.

It was daylight outside, but traffic cleared as the Batmobile roared down the streets. Bruce wanted the Joker to know they were coming.

“Good luck,” Dick said quietly over the comms.

“Any news?” Jason asked.

Dick sighed. “None. She’s still in surgery.”

“Okay.” The Batmobile rolled to a stop. “We’re there.”

“Don’t let him do anything he’ll regret,” Dick said as they once more exited the vehicle.

“I won’t,” Jason promised.

He hoped he could keep his word.

Bruce and Jason stood side by side, staring at the abandoned warehouse. This was not Jason’s first time facing the Joker, but it may be his last, given how Bruce was acting.

Jason was full of trepidation. The Joker had almost  _ killed _ Jason. He still wasn’t over that fact. How are you supposed to react when your brother(?) from an alternate universe tells you that you just narrowly avoided being brutally murdered? And now you’re on your way to go fight said murderer, and potentially have to stop your father from killing him? There was no Wikihow for this. No easy answers.

“Robin. Wait here,” and he took off without saying anything else.

“Like hell,” Jason whispered to himself, sneaking in after Bruce, but hiding behind a pillar. Just in case.

The Joker’s familiar laugh echoed in the empty warehouse. “Hello, Batsy.”

Bruce didn’t let the Joker get another word in before he pounced ruthlessly, not holding back and hitting hard. He grabbed his arm and bent it with a loud  _ snap. _

There was barely any struggle before he tossed the Joker to the floor and pinned him down, pounding on him senselessly. Jason could hear bones cracking.  _ ‘Holy shit. He’s actually going to kill him.’  _ Jason hadn’t really believed it until this moment.

He lept into action, latching onto one of Bruce’s arms before another punch could rain down. “Don’t do this, B. You know this isn’t the answer.”

Bruce seemed to be frozen, staring down at the Joker’s face with no emotion. “He shot Batgirl. He would have killed you. I won’t let him hurt anyone else. I can’t.”

“Batman, please.” His voice was hoarse, and Jason felt almost strangled by the emotions coursing through him. He had never seen Bruce this angry. This out of control.

Beneath Bruce, the Joker started laughing again, blood spilling from his lips.  _ “Do it, Batsy. I dare you.” _

That seemed to shake Bruce out of his state more than anything Jason said, and he jerked to his feet. The Joker continued cackling with his limbs splayed around him at odd angles.

Jason hesitantly put a hand and Bruce’s arm and was startled as Bruce yanked him into a hug. He wrapped his cape around Jason just like he used to do when Jason was younger. From this close, he could feel the minute vibrations as Bruce tried to control his shuddering.

“You made the right choice, B. You did good,” Jason murmured, muffled on Bruce’s chest.

Bruce didn’t respond, and he wasn’t sure how long they stood there. Eventually, Jason’s earpiece buzzed, and Dick started talking. “She’ll live.” Jason heard him take a breath. “She’s gonna be okay, but the nurse said that—Hold on, someone else is trying to contact me.” Dick went quiet for a minute, presumably talking to someone else.

When he came back, his voice was in Nightwing mode. “Tim ran off. Presumably to chase down Ra’s al Ghul. He managed to convince Cassie and Conner to go with.”

And there, hidden under his father’s cape, listening to the laughs of a broken madman, Jason let out a single word.

_ “Fuck.” _

* * *

They hid Sphere in a small crevice not too far from the base. Tim had told them he had a plan that he would explain once they landed. Except, when Conner turned to ask Tim what the plan was, he was already gone, which was annoying as hell. Conner wasn’t a fan of that trick when Dick first did it all those years ago, and he hadn’t grown any fondness for it since. He let out an agitated sigh.

Twelve hours was a long time to travel. It was also more than enough time for Conner to understand a few new things about his companions.

Number one: Tim was incredibly smart. He could think circles around everyone else and was miraculously somehow both aware of his brilliance and lacking a sense of self-worth. He was also willing to toss himself into the fire if it meant no one else had to.

“What’s wr—did he ditch us already?” Cassie put her hands on her hips.

Number two: Cassie’s hot button was being left behind. She wanted to prove herself more than anything and couldn’t stand her friends being in danger without her. Conner knew most of that already, but it was a lot different now that he was seeing it in person. Now that he was a part of it. They weren’t often on the same team.

“Apparently.”

“Alright, guess we’re storming the place.” Cassie moved to start stalking out, but Conner grabbed her arm. That was a horrible plan. It wasn’t even a plan so much as sheer impulsivity.

“Cassie, we don’t know anything about what’s going on.”

“What? You think we should leave him?”

Conner grew frustrated. “No, but we need a plan. We can’t just go rushing in like that. That’s what’s gonna get all of us— **”** He was cut off by a loud explosion coming from the base. 

“Guess that’s our cue.” She took off like a shot straight towards the base.

Number three: Tim and Cassie had not a shred of common sense between them.

Dick was right, Conner should have listened to him. They had no plan, no intel, and no one knew where they were. There was no way this would end well. Still, he couldn’t let the two of them face down an army of ninjas salone, and their cover was pretty much already blown already, so he could just jump right in. Conner was never one for stealth anyways.

It only took him a few leaps forward to join the fray with a roar. He could see Cassie just outside the front of the base, swarmed by League members, but holding her own. He didn’t know where Tim was, which worried him, but he was probably already inside.

Conner grabbed someone and threw them at a group of four others like a bowling ball.

_ ‘Strike!’ _

“Glad you chose to join us, Superboy!” Cassie hollered.

“Well, couldn’t let you have all the fun.” He punctuated his statement by smashing his knee into a man’s stomach, slowly making his way over to Cassie. He wasn’t too concerned for himself, given the whole Kryptonian thing, but blades could pierce Cassie, and Tim was completely human.

Speaking of Tim, he chose that moment to harshly whisper through Conner’s earpiece.  _ “What  _ are you two doing?”

Cassie kicked an assassin in the face. “Saving your butt. You just ran off! What were we supposed to do?”

“I had a plan! I was just going to be in and out, no attention required.”

“Then what was that explosion?” Conner asked, also annoyed with Tim.

“A diversion. I needed something to draw attention.”

Cassie grunted. “Well, lucky you, we’re now your diversion.”

Both Cassie and Conner had the advantage of various superpowers, but that almost didn’t matter. Every time they knocked one down, there was someone waiting to take their place.

Conner knew their best chances were to join up, so he continued the arduous task of fighting his way through the crush of bodies.

_ Punch. Punch. Duck. Kick. Grab. Throw. Punch. _

It seemed like they were finally making a dent, but not much of one.

“Watch out!” Cassie called. Conner whipped around to see someone aiming a blunt object at his head, but a golden lasso wrapped around the attacker and yanked them away.

He gave a solid kick into an assassin’s chest and heard Cassie cry out in pain, whipping around to see what had happened. In that moment of vulnerability when Cassie was focused on Conner, someone had snuck up behind Cassie and bludgeoned her over the head.

It would take more than one hit to down Cassie, but that first hit made her stumble, and that stumble was enough for someone else to kick her in the gut and make her double over. She was quickly being overwhelmed by the sheer number of assailants.

Conner reached a hand out towards her. He wasn’t sure exactly what that was meant to accomplish, but it didn’t matter because he suddenly sunk to his knees in agony. There was a burning sensation coursing through his veins. A weakness that could only mean one thing.

The crowd of assassins parted, all standing to attention with the exception of those tying Cassie down with her own lasso.

A woman stepped in front of him. “Come now, children. You didn’t really expect that to work, did you?”

Tim’s whisper came through the comms.  _ “Shit.  _ That’s Talia al Ghul. Ra’s’ daughter. Why is she here?”

This was bad, but there was nothing he could do. Conner used all his strength to spit at her feet. 

She grabbed his chin harshly, leaning down towards him. The glowing green rock in her other hand highlighted the sharp glint in her eyes. “What are you here for?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Conner could make out Cassie still thrashing around. He didn’t even have the energy to mimic her. He simply bared his teeth.

“Not up to talking? We’ll have plenty of time to interrogate you both during your stay here.”

_ ‘Both.’  _ He didn’t say anything, but he heard Cassie inhale slightly.

The woman’s eyes narrowed at that. “There’s more of you. How many?”

Neither of them responded. She straightened up. “Spread out and find them.” The ninja around them dispersed except for a handful that moved to Conner and Cassie’s sides at Talia’s cue. Without another word, she started walking away, Conner and Cassie dragged behind her.

He couldn’t believe they had gotten themselves into this mess. This day was absolutely full of bad decisions. As they were pulled through one of the base’s entrances, Conner turned his face to the sky. The sun was rising. Mocking him, almost.

Fingers crossed that Tim has something up his sleeve.

Weakened as he was by the Kryptonite, Conner was quickly growing tired of keeping his head held up. He was left with no choice but to go limp and close his eyes in an attempt to make the nausea go away.

“Superboy!” Cassie yelled in distress. “What are you doing to him?”

No one answered her, but she kept writhing against the ropes and yelling. Conner hoped all that extra energy she had meant she was able to keep track of where they were going because Conner had no clue.

Without warning, they were dropped down. Conner peeked open an eye to see that they had landed in a medium-sized room that was mostly empty. He was positioned as a collapsed heap, too exhausted to move to a more comfortable position. The people who had dragged them in had left the room as soon as they were deposited.

Talia held a still-struggling Cassie down by placing a foot on her back. “How many of you are there?”

Cassie glared vindictively. “Enough to take you down.”

Talia stepped off Cassie and harshly grabbed her chin, digging her fingers painfully into Cassie’s jaw. “Frankly, little girl, I have more pressing concerns right now. You will tell me or I will  _ make you.” _

“So aggressive, Talia. Missing someone?”

Thank god for Tim. Of course, they wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place if not for him, but that was all semantics.

She released Cassie and Conner let out a sigh of relief. 

“You know where he is.” It wasn’t a question. Conner assumed they were talking about the kid that Tim had sort-of-kidnapped on his first day here.

“Yes.”

Talia’s face tightened. “Where is he?”

“He’s safe. Ra’s can’t get to him now.”

“That’s not enough. Where is he?”

Tim tilted his head consideringly. There was something running through his head, but Conner couldn’t figure it out.

“I took him to his father. He has people looking out for him.”

She seemed to relax slightly. “And why did you come here?”

“Ra’s kidnapped a replacement heir. I’m looking for him.”

“Did you get what you needed from here?”

“Yes.”

“Then go.”

Something in this interaction was passing straight over Conner’s head. Sure, it was nice that she apparently supported Tim’s decision of kidnapping her child, but how did that translate to letting them go?

Talia and Tim stared at each other for a long moment.

“I’ll keep him safe,” Tim promised.

Talia pulled a cloth-wrapped object from her pocket. “Give this to him. You have five minutes.”

Tim nodded and Talia strode from the room without another word, taking the Kryptonite with her. The nauseating effects diminished quickly, but Conner still felt incredibly weak. Tim began nimbly picking apart the knots tying Cassie down.

“I know where to find him,” he said, smiling up at Conner.

Conner’s heart thumped. It was a very pretty smile.

* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Warning: Unknown energy impulse detected.”

Bart had one chance to get this right. Time to put on a show.

“Ta da!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW Summary:**  
>  Jason and Bruce go to Barbara’s apartment and check out the scene. Jason worries Bruce is going to do something he’ll regret. Alfred sends the location of a Joker sighting to the Batmobile. They get to an abandoned warehouse, Dick (over comms) has Jason promise he won’t let Bruce do anything rash.
> 
> Bruce tells Jason to stay outside, but Jason sneaks in after and hides behind a pillar. Bruce gets rough with the Joker and beats him pretty bad. Jason manages to stop Bruce from killing the Joker, and they hug.
> 
> Everything after that first section should be pretty safe to read. It’s just Cassie, Conner, and Tim being chaotic and making bad decisions. There is a fight scene, but it’s pretty tame.
> 
> so... He Is Here!! So excited, core four is almost assembled  
> (that last bit is also a direct quote from the cartoon)
> 
> Now, if you're like me and love Core Four, I just started a Core Four fanfic book club on discord. Every week, we're going to get together (on discord) and discuss a fic that we all voted to read. It should be really fun, so go check it out!  
> https://discord.gg/Uefxd8yCQg


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **28 February 2016**  
>  hey gang, back again! *throws this at y'all*
> 
> this chapter references things in the cartoon, so you might be a lil confused if you never watched it, but I think you'll be okay.

They had a plan, but Tim would have to walk straight into Ra’s’ hands if they wanted it to work. It was definitely risky. With a little luck though, it would go off without a hitch.

Tim wasn’t known for being lucky.

Back when Cassie and Conner were fighting their way through a League swarm, Tim had established a connection with the new computer systems and was able to figure out where Ra’s was holed up with the other Tim.

The base itself was a Tibetan monastery and seemed well-fortified, if not as much as the Turkey base. The ground was covered in snow, and Tim had to suppress shivers. They had stopped to buy some winter gear, but Tim had opted out. Any extra bulk would slow him down, and he’d need every advantage he could get. Besides, it would be warmer inside.

Walking into the belly of the beast was a familiar feeling. Actually, this was probably the closest he’d felt to his universe since he got here. Standing alone, in front of a League of Assassins base, getting ready to play a high stakes strategy game. The only difference was that, this time, he knew Cassie and Conner were there too, off completing their own parts of the mission.

Tim took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling and watching his breath create fog in the air. “Alright guys. It’s go time,” he whispered.

“Try not to die,” Cassie responded, causing Tim to let out a small huff.

“Good luck,” Conner added quietly.

Somehow, those little words of encouragement steadied his hands a bit. He wasn’t alone this time. Tim stepped out from his hiding spot and began walking, not even trying to disguise his actions as the snow crunched underneath his feet. When he got close enough to the base, a blade suddenly appeared at his throat.

“I am going to speak with Ra’s,” Tim said boldly.

The blade pressed in a little harder.

“Relax. I promise he’ll want to have this chat.”

The League members around him seemed to glance around at each other, deliberating among themselves, before shoving him closer to the base and leading him through winding halls. They reached a set of large, open double doors, and his escorts paused, gesturing him forward.

Confidently, Tim slipped his way through the doors, and they shut behind him. Ra’s was sitting on a pillow at the end of the room, his eyes closed. Tim made his way over and stopped about ten feet away, sitting down and mimicking Ra's’ position.

Ra’s’ eyes opened. “To what do I owe this surprise?”

“Oh, y’know, this and that. I was in the neighborhood. Thought I’d stop by.”

His eyes narrowed. “How fortunate.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about what I’m doing here yourself, would you?” Tim asked.

“Here in this country or this universe?”

Tim smiled sharply. “Take your pick.”

The priority goal of this mission was to save the other Tim, but he still wanted to get as much out of Ra’s as he could. After all, he hadn’t forgotten that this wasn’t his universe. Being here wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be, but he couldn’t forget that his mere presence was causing problems.

“I suppose you’re in Tibet because you’ve heard about my guest.”

“Guest? So that’s what we’re calling kidnapped children now?”

Ra’s tilted his head. “You should know, Timothy. You have a guest of your own, do you not?”

Tim simply hummed. “And the universe?”

“You really don’t expect me to give up information you covet that easily, do you? I am quite curious, though. What is the last thing you remember?”

Tim’s mind latched onto that. That was more revealing than Ra’s knew. He thought something had happened on Tim’s end to bring him here, and he thought that was information Tim already understood. Whether that was true or not didn’t matter. The important part was that Ra’s didn’t do it.

“Bright flash of light, heavy vertigo. You know how it is,” Tim said sarcastically.

Ra’s clasped his hands together in front of him. “We both know you’re not here for small talk. Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed. This diversion was quite a bit sloppier than I expected from you. I have heard great things, after all.”

There was also quite a bit of information to analyze there. Clearly, Ra’s knew something about Tim, but he was jarred from his thoughts by the doors opening behind him. Twisting around, Tim saw Conner being dragged in a fashion remarkably similar to the day before, a familiar green rock held close to his face. He looked defeated. Weak.

“Really, Timothy. This boy wouldn’t know anything about stealth. I’m disappointed.”

Tim let his eyes widen a bit in shock, but he smiled internally. Make them underestimate you, and then use that to your advantage.  _ ‘Checkmate, Ra’s.’ _

Tim’s favorite kinds of plans were the ones that relied on subverting the enemy’s expectations. Ra’s expected him to try some sort of subterfuge. A diversion and an action, but not an outright attack. So that’s what Tim gave him. What Ra’s didn’t anticipate was that Tim wasn’t the diversion. Conner was. Tim was just the introduction, gathering information while he set the stage.  _ Cassie  _ was the one they really had to look out for. Tim would pretend to lose a mind game with Ra’s while Conner got ‘caught’ sneaking around and started a ruckus. Cassie slipped in amidst the chaos and was currently searching quietly for the other Tim.

This sort of tactic wouldn’t work on the original Ra’s, he knew better than that. But this Ra’s hadn’t gained that sort of knowledge yet.

“I suppose you’re not going to be as useful as predicted. Besides, I have a spare to train. You’re no longer needed.” He nodded to the assassins that had brought Conner in. “Take him down, if you can. Barehanded.”

Tim’s panic was real this time. He’d tipped the scales  _ too  _ far somehow, and now Ra’s had underestimated him enough to find him useless. But that’s not exactly true either, is it? He’d ordered them to fight him barehanded, which meant he was giving Tim a chance.

Tim stood up and snapped his bo open to its full length. Eight opponents, not counting Ra’s. He could do this. He just had to hold out long enough for Cassie to finish up, and then take it from there.

His mind raced. He could play this either offensively or defensively. In a fight, you usually want to keep your opponent on the defense, but Tim was worried about his shoulder. He had been so careful to not let Conner or Cassie know that anything was amiss, and had routed his strategies around him not having to do much physical exertion or any fighting. Still, he knew his limits, and fighting a handful of highly trained assassins wasn’t exactly something he was confident about in his current condition. He’d probably be best off trying to maintain distance, and, if he could, nab the Kryptonite and put Conner back in the game.

A couple of his bolder opponents rushed him right off the bat, so Tim focused on using more evasive martial arts techniques and his legs. He didn’t think he could get more than a couple solid hits with his bo considering the state of his arm, but they didn’t have to know that just yet.

Tim spun around, greatly reminded of his time fighting the Council of Spiders. Dodging and kicking, feinting and rolling. Twisting around a guy to use him as a shield and kicking him straight into a tangle with his allies. This gave Tim the chance to lunge at the woman holding the Kryptonite. The move was unexpected, but someone else managed to trip Tim, and he knocked straight into the woman, the Kryptonite flying through the air.

_ ‘Damn it.’ _

Tim’s next actions were too thought-out to be called a scramble, but it probably didn’t look too far off. He shot a foot out behind him and kicked the nearest person, slamming his elbow down on the woman’s face underneath him, causing them both to hiss with pain. That had been his bad arm. He couldn’t let the pain slow him down though. The woman’s grip on him had loosened with the hit, allowing Tim to launch himself into a sloppy roll in the direction of the Kryptonite. 

The roll didn’t get him all the way there, but it did put enough distance in so that he was able to stand back up and stare them down. Tim felt almost like a matador tempting the bulls to rush him. He surveyed his opponents. The one woman was clearly disorientated, but staggering back to her feet. The guy he had used as a shield looked mostly fine, if not angrier than he was to begin with. In fact, that was a pretty common feature among the eight of them.

The one thing working in Tim’s favor was that they seemed to have no unit cohesion. Rather, as a side effect of their occupation, they were all used to working solo. Usually, Tim would try to separate his enemies and take them down one by one, but this might actually work better if he lets them trip each other up.

He darted into the fray, ducking and weaving between them, using his bo to impede their movements and pushing them into each other.

His every move was calculated.

This was something he knew made him different. His ability to analyze his opponents and adjust his every action accordingly in the middle of a fight was unparalleled in any universe. Other vigilantes talked about how overthinking everything in a fight would make you stumble. They fought mostly with experience and carefully honed instinct, but Tim had never been able to turn his brain off in that manner. He saw that as an asset.

That exchange, short as it was, had been enough for Tim to have gathered everything he needed to know. The way the big guy used his fists and kept his feet grounded to the floor, the way Angry-Shield-Guy was getting frustrated, not only at Tim, but at his allies, the way the one with light skin favored her left leg slightly. Tim saw it all, and carefully compiled all that information into a plan of action. Time to execute.

Moving fast, he whirled into action, sending a kick targeted at that limping leg. One assassin down. The quicker he ended this, the better—he could only keep this up for so long, and he couldn’t count on getting any backup. Two and three, taken out with nerve strikes. Ra’s was finally getting up out of the corner of his eye as he knocked number four out. Ra’s didn’t seem to have any interest in interfering, but Tim would have to speed this up. He hastened his efforts, and Ra’s started walking on a path somewhere behind Tim.  _ ‘Towards the Kryptonite,’  _ Tim realized, but there was nothing he could do with his attention focused on the fight.

Ra’s picked up the Kryptonite as Tim took out the fifth goon and continued on his path over to where Conner was still sprawled out in misery. Number six was down with a sharp kick-elbow combo. Ra’s stopped right next to Conner and held the Kryptonite up to the light. At this angle, Tim could make out that it had been sharpened to a point. He met Conner’s eyes from across the room, but with his attention so divided, Tim momentarily forgot to watch his arm as he sprang into a flip and it crumbled underneath him, pain radiating from his shoulder. The remaining two capitalized on his fall and quickly pinned him to the floor.

“There’s your weakness, Timothy. You’re too concerned about those around you.” The way ‘Timothy’ rolled off Ra’s’ tongue felt wrong. It was a term he now associated with Damian. Not the murdering brat from his home universe, but the kid that Tim had forged such a strong connection with as the closest thing Tim had to a little brother. “It will be your doom,” he said simply, approaching Conner’s neck, Kryptonite’s acidic glow highlighting Conner’s cheekbones.

“No!” Tim yelled, bucking against the hold on him. In retrospect, he couldn’t believe he’d come up with a plan that involved purposely making Conner weakened like this. He was going to get Conner killed now.

But before anything else was done, Ra’s jerked around suddenly, catching an arrow now quivering in his hold. Similarly, he heard two thunks hit the goons holding him down, and a group of people stepped into the room.

Cassie was there with someone slung over her shoulder, standing next to this universe’s Tim. Tim let out a small sigh of relief. With them were Roy and… Cheshire? Tim knew her as an enemy, but this Cheshire seemed to be on their side—for now, anyway. A small cry alerted him to the infant strapped to her back.

This was one of the top five strangest rescues he’d experienced, he thought, as he shoved the dead weight off his back. He stood slowly, retrieving his bo from the ground with one hand and resuming a ready stance. Cassie let the guy she was carrying down gently against a wall and stationed the smaller Tim next to him.

“There’s more of you. The Kryptonian wasn’t the plan. He was the  _ real _ diversion,” Ra’s realized out loud, glancing back at Tim. “A simple strategy, but effective.”

“We have you outnumbered. Surrender now,” Roy commanded, his grip tightening on his bow.

“No, I don’t think I will.” Ra’s hurled the arrow he was holding in the group’s direction, Cassie quickly stepping forward to block it with her metal cuffs as smoke filled the room. Tim tried to track Ra’s with his eyes, but it was no use. The fog started to clear and he was already gone.

Dropping his bo, Tim skidded over to Conner. “Are you okay?” he asked, patting him down frantically. This was hitting a little too close to home.

“Yeah,” Conner coughed out. “But let’s never do that again. Besides, you were the one who actually had to fight. I just had to sit here and play damsel in distress.”

“Maybe that’s your calling in life,” Tim grinned, helping Conner sit up.

“If you two are done, I’d like to get out of this frozen wasteland,” Cheshire said with a cocked hip.

Conner got his first view of their rescuers when he turned around. “Roy? What are you doing here?”

Roy simply pointed to the guy Cassie had slumped against the wall, and it was… also Roy?

Yeah, definitely the strangest rescue now.

* * *

Roy had actually done it. He had found the original Speedy. Conner couldn’t believe it even after hours of them all crammed together in Sphere.

Cheshire had left them at the monastery, taking the baby (who was apparently Roy’s?) with her, but both Roys were here, and the little Tim was quietly sleeping. Actually, he seemed pretty quiet in general, but he really couldn’t blame the kid. It’d been a tough few days for him.

They’d be back at Mount Justice soon and be facing the scolding of a lifetime. Conner was pretty used to if after everything that had gone down with the original Team, but he knew Cassie was nervous.

Tim, on the other hand, didn’t seem apprehensive at all. Right now, his eyes were closed, but he was clearly still awake. Just thinking. Conner couldn’t help but notice how his eyelashes brushed his cheeks. Cassie had been right in thinking that Conner thought Tim was pretty, but it was just a tiny bit deeper now. Tim had weaved his way through that fight as if dancing the steps to a song only he could hear. In those moments before Ra’s had stood up, he had been sharp. Ethereal, almost.

Okay, so maybe that was incredibly dramatic, but Tim was really attractive.

It was dumb of Conner to get hung up on a guy like this when he knew full well that he’d be leaving as soon as possible, but he kind of didn’t care. He hadn’t felt this light in a long time, even with the intense mission they just pulled off.

Although, maybe that wasn’t entirely because of Tim, he considered as Cassie leaned forwards to poke Tim’s shoulder. “Can I braid your hair?” she asked.

“Why don’t you braid Conner’s hair?” His eyelashes fluttered slightly, but remained closed.

“Conner’s hair is too short. Besides, I think I’m entitled to hair-braiding rights after that whole ordeal.”

Roy let out an annoyed huff behind them, but Conner chose to ignore it in favor of focusing on his friends. And wasn’t that a weird thing to say? Conner had known Cassie for a while, but they had only just been starting to bond over cooking when Tim came crashing in, and he had only known Tim for a couple of days. And yet, they were undoubtedly friends now. Watching Cassie rake her fingers through Tim’s hair looked kind of nice though.

“Maybe I’ll grow it out a bit,” Conner smiled. “Then we could start a braiding train.”

Cassie let go of Tim’s hair to give a small clap of excitement. “Great! Full disclosure though, I don’t know how to braid.”

“Then why’d you want to braid Tim’s hair?” Conner asked skeptically. 

“Honestly, I was hoping Tim would know how and teach me. He seems like the kind of guy who would have all sorts of obscure knowledge and random skills like that.”

Tim turned to face Cassie. “I want you to know that I am offended,” he deadpanned.

“I’m right though, aren’t I? You know how to braid hair?”

Tim sighed. “Come over here and I’ll just braid yours instead.”

Cassie let out a fistpump, climbing over Tim to sit down in front of him.

Conner watched Tim fingerbrush Cassie’s hair for a few moments. “How do you even know how to do that?”

“I mainly learned for undercover purposes.”

“What, like, as a hairdresser?” Cassie continued.

“No, as a woman. If some idiots want to let me into places I’m not supposed to be just because I strap some padding to my chest, then who am I to say no?”

Cassie burst out laughing and Conner let out a chuckle of his own.

Tim grinned for a second before he winced at something over Conner’s shoulder. “Sorry, Cassie, we’re going to have to take a raincheck on the braiding.” Conner turned around and saw that they were approaching the coast.

Tim reached back and poked the other Tim’s cheek gently. “Time to wake up.” His eyes cracked open.

“Are we there?” he asked, as quietly as he had earlier.

“Yeah, kiddo. We’re there.”

“Are you sure we should be taking him to Mount Justice?” Conner asked.

Tim waved it off, “You already know Batman and co’s secret I.D.s, right?”

Little Tim nodded. “Er… yeah.”

“Then it’s fine. He can Zeta back to Gotham from there.”

The vehicle bay opened up on the side of the mountain, and Conner carefully maneuvered Sphere to land smoothly on the pad. Two figures immediately jogged into the room: Gar and…

“Bart?” Tim asked. “I thought you guys said you didn’t have a Bart.”

“We don’t,” Conner said warily. “Or at least, we didn’t. You said he was a time traveller, right?”

“Yep, that’s me! Time travelling tourist extraordinaire. How d’you know me?” The guy’s words were quick, as if rushing to get his thoughts out in typical speedster fashion.

Tim’s eyes narrowed in a way that was quickly becoming familiar. That was his thinking face. “You might call me a multiverse travelling extraordinaire myself,” he said with a touch of sarcasm. “Tourist, you say?”

There was a tightness to Bart’s smile. “Just thought I’d come explore the twenty-first century, but my machine’s busted now.”

Conner only noticed Tim’s face relaxing because he was watching so closely, but it seemed almost unnatural. “That’s cool. Maybe we could get together soon and talk about how your time compares to my Bart’s.”

Bart’s face did the same odd thing Tim’s had. “That’d be totally crash!”

He looked over and met Cassie’s eyes. She knew there was something up with that too, but neither of them said anything.

They were interrupted by several people sweeping quickly into the room, Batman at the front, with Robin and a kid close behind.

“Red Robin. You have betrayed our trust. I am now enforcing mandatory reports of all your activities before you do them,” the small one said with a glare.

Conner was slightly alarmed, but Tim merely chuckled, walking over to them. “Hey, kiddo. Miss me?”

The kid turned his nose up, but Tim knelt down anyways and pulled out the wrapped item that Talia had given him. “Your mom told me to give this to you. Open it when we get back to Gotham.” He hesitantly took it from Tim and the two of them stared at each other for a moment before the kid darted into Tim’s side, wrapping his arms around him.

Next to them, Jason was standing with his arms crossed.

“I’m mad at you.”

“I know.”

“That was stupid of you.”

“I know.”

Jason let out a sigh before stepping forward and allowing Tim to close his other arm around his shoulders.

“I’m glad you’re back.”

Tim smiled. “I know.”

Throughout that whole exchange, Batman’s focus was on their newest companions.

Roy squared his shoulders. “I found Speedy.”

Batman stared back. “How sure are you that it’s actually him?”

“Positive, but I know you’re going to run your tests anyways.”

Batman turned to glance at Tim. “And you found your missing person too.”

Tim nodded.

“So, uh,” Bart began, “is anyone going to explain what’s going on here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed! I'll go add the fic recs in a bit, but I'm pretty tired right now so I'm feeling lazy.
> 
> (also I bet no one saw the roy thing coming lol)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **28 February 2016**  
>  miss me?
> 
> okay, so it's been a while, i'm sorry, life got in the way, but i'm back!! and hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this one did.
> 
> it has also come to my attention that some people don't know what's going on (namely with the roy clone sitch) because they didn't watch the cartoon, so I'll add a brief summary of all that in the chapter end notes
> 
> enjoy!

So this was happening.

Bart was fine, though, and everything was perfectly under control.

...

Okay, so nothing was under control, and Bart was most certainly  _ not  _ fine, but there wasn’t time for panicking right now. These next few minutes would make or break the mission.

His main problem was the new variable. Travelling back in time to meet his extended family and save his grandfather? Just another day. But that ‘Red’ guy? He knew something about Bart, and that was dangerous. Nobody should have known  _ anything _ about him. This whole operation only worked if Bart was the one holding the cards, and yet, somehow, this random dude had knowledge that Bart didn’t. And given that Bart was literally from the future, that  _ really _ wasn’t supposed to happen.

At least Red had kept everything to himself instead of exposing Bart, which was a relief, but that still could mean any number of things. Although, given that he apparently knew  _ another  _ time travelling Bart, there was every possibility that he could be useful. What they really needed to do was to arrange a way to talk privately, but Batman looked like he was about ready to stop that plan in its tracks and ground the guy.

Outside of Bart’s furious thinking, he was vaguely aware of Batman crouching down and talking to the kid that they had brought back with them, before standing up and facing everyone else. “Robin, D, help Red Robin take him home. Red Robin, I’m assuming you’ll be able to take care of a cover story. I need to deal with this first.” Batman looked pointedly at the unconscious red-haired man, and they all nodded in response. Almost as an afterthought, Batman turned towards Superboy and Wondergirl. “You two. We will be discussing this later. For now, Wondergirl,  _ go home.”  _ She stiffened in response, wincing slightly, but ultimately nodded.

The whole group started making their way over to the vehicle bay’s exit. He really should walk over there and talk to Red while he had the chance, but Bart was left trailing behind as Wonder Girl and Superboy flanked Red on both sides, all three huddled together and speaking in whispers. They were really making this hard on Bart, weren’t they? And watching everyone zeta beam off made him realize he might not get his chance for a while. Four of them, including Red and the kid, went off to Gotham, Wonder Girl went home alone, and Batman left with the two red headed twins. Or clones? They had mentioned something about clones. That left Bart alone with Superboy and Beast Boy. Sidekicks of this era sure like tagging “girl” or “boy” to the end of everything, didn’t they?

“Well that was... something,” BB said. “Do you guys want to do something? Play a game?”

Honestly? No. Bart had stuff to catastrophize about in new and creative ways, but integrating himself into this world wouldn’t exactly hurt.

Bart almost opened his mouth to speak, but Superboy cut in first. “Actually, I was hoping to talk to Bart about something.” He must have jumped to answer the question if he managed to beat Bart to it.

Beast Boy threw his hands up. “Oh, sure. Everyone’s always going off to have their private talks. No need to include me.” Continuing his melodramatic outburst, he stomped off down a hall, though Bart thought it was probably partially theatrical.

Now alone, Superboy looked at him. “We both know you’re not a tourist.”

“Oh yeah? How d’you figure that?” Bart’s foot was tapping at a pace too fast for a regular human.

“Honestly, considering you managed to fool everyone else, I probably wouldn’t have thought twice if not for Red. He’s also the reason I’m not currently ratting you out, so you better start talking.”

Bart crossed his arms. “Look. I’ve got a job to do, and I can’t have anyone messing this up. If you care about the fate of the world and all that, then you won’t interfere.”

Superboy sighed. “We’re not going to stop you, despite my better judgement. We want to help you. Red knows a version of you in his universe. Told us to trust you until given a reason not to. If what you’re planning is really that big, then you’re going to need backup, and me, Red Robin, and Wonder Girl can help you without tipping off anyone else.”

Bart’s brain was always running faster than the world around him, but even his thoughts could race faster if given a reason. Superboy was right that Bart was taking a risk with incredibly high stakes. Having help wasn’t such a bad idea, but there were two major caveats. One, he wasn’t sure if he could trust these people. Sure, they were all heroes, and they were even heroes he had done extensive research on, or at least, as much research that could be done given the dilapidated resources of the future,  _ and _ they were willing to give him a chance. But did that really matter? That brought Bart to point two. Even if he could trust them, the more people that knew about the future, the less likely he was to be able to control the situation. And that was dangerous.

He warred back and forth with himself, considering the facts and running through them again and again. He had the time, after all, and he couldn’t afford to mess this up.

The  _ world _ couldn’t afford him messing this up.

If he trusted them, there were three possible outcomes. They’d either betray him, accidentally mess things up, or, and this was a very small chance, they’d actually help him save the world. His odds were slim to begin with, and he couldn’t really afford to close that margin for error. Then again, if he didn’t trust them, there was no way they would keep this under wraps. Superboy was already disinclined to trust Bart, and he had no idea where Wonder Girl sat. That could be disastrous. At least if he told them something, even if it wasn’t the full truth, he’d be able to influence the outcome.

At somewhat peace with his decision, Bart allowed his thoughts to slow down to the tempo of the rest of the world. 

“Okay,” he said warily.

“Really?” Superboy blinked a few times. “Uh, then we should take this outside. Less likely anyone’s going to overhear.”

“Right, right, okay.” Bart nodded rapidly.

Thus was his last chance to change his mind, and indecision was rearing its head. What was he thinking? Trusting others was a quick way to get moded, and Bart had made it this far on his own. And worse, these heroes were probably too  _ soft  _ for what had to be done.

Before he could debate with himself more, fog filled his head for a split moment so short that no one else could have hoped to notice it. When it cleared, Bart was left with a new conviction. His instincts were screaming at him to go along with this now.

He had a good feeling about this.

* * *

Tim didn’t mind the quiet. There was a certain comfort that could be found in silence, and his life had been filled with empty halls for so long that he was quite good at finding it. Don’t draw attention, be the good son. Stay quiet if you aren’t needed, be polite and no one will notice you doing things you’re not supposed to be doing.

Don’t make a noise and the superheroes around you won’t notice how much you’re panicking.

Tim was really trying to keep it together, but this kind of situation didn’t exactly lend itself to calmness. After all, this was his first time being kidnapped by a creepy old man and subsequently rescued by another version of himself. Plus, that was Batman and Robin. Who now knew that Tim knew their identities.  _ Batman. And Robin.  _ Best to keep his inner fanboy locked up tight.

Everything had moved so fast once they touched down. Tim was having a little trouble processing everything, and that nervous feeling didn’t subside when they  _ teleported to the Batcave  _ (which was, y’know, a thing, apparently).

Maybe Tim wasn’t as good at keeping his cool as he thought, because his other self put his hand on Tim’s shoulder almost immediately after they stepped off the platform. Or maybe, he just knew all of Tim’s habits. “I know this is a lot to take in, but we’ll get you home soon,” he said gently.

Tim nodded a little numbly, his shoulders losing some of their tension. He hadn’t really had a chance to let his guard down in days, but now he was almost home.

The moment was abruptly ended by that angry-looking boy slotting himself between them and glaring at Tim.

“That’s enough of that. To avoid confusion, we shall assign you a new name. Henceforth, you will be referred to as ‘Jerry.’ A name suitable for someone of your… stature.”

_ ‘What.’ _

“My name’s Tim. It’s really not that hard to just call us both Tim.”

The boy scoffed. “I would expect this sort of fuss from someone named Jerry.”

_ “That’s not my name.  _ Where did that even come from? How would you feel if I told you that  _ you  _ had a new name?” 

“Illogical. I would simply establish superiority and force my opponent to change theirs.”

He could feel his eyebrow twitching.

“Fine. Your new name is Iago. Like the annoying bird in Aladdin.”

“I demand that you rescind!”

Tim was vaguely aware of Robin and his other self watching them, but he was a little too invested in this. Pettiness was, unfortunately, one of his weaknesses.

“No can do,  _ Iago.” _

He launched himself at Tim with a screech, and he had only a moment to panic because  _ why did he think it was a good idea to taunt the angry child  _ before his older self swooped in almost inhumanly fast to catch the boy by the collar of his shirt.

“Let go of me, Timothy! I am being insulted by vermin and am well within my rights to retaliate.”

“Calm down, Damian. What’s got you all in a huff?” Big Tim chided. ‘Damian’ simply crossed his arms, dangling slightly from older Tim’s grasp like a scolded kitten.

Robin, almost forgotten in light of everything else going on, snorted. “I know exactly what’s going on,” he said. At the other Tim’s questioning glance, he added, “I’ll tell you later. Right now, we’ve got to get little Timbit over here sorted out.” He turned to look at Damian. “Brat, go cool off. Find Alfie and tell him Tim’s back.”

Big Tim slowly released Damian back to the floor from which he immediately stalked off, still glaring. Tim stuck his tongue out in a show of immaturity just to see Damian’s face twitch.

Tim’s grin slipped. Now that his distraction was gone, the reality of the situation was finally starting to hit him. With his back still facing the others, he sucked in a couple measured breaths. He’d made it this far, he could wait a bit longer to have his breakdown. 

He gave himself a count of three. Relax his shoulders and shift his weight casually.  _ One.  _ Close his eyes and shove his emotions to the back of his mind.  _ Two.  _ Plaster on his mask, upturn the corners of his mouth slightly and rearrange the tensions in his face.  _ Three. _

Tim spun around. “Alright. What’s next?”

There wasn’t a chance his other self didn’t see through it all, but that was fine. Big Tim wouldn’t call him out on it.

They made eye contact and, yep, Big Tim was raising an eyebrow, but he let it pass. “We need to get a cover story in place. Somehow, I don’t think ‘kidnapped by the leader of a shadow organization that doesn’t officially exist’ will cut it. Amnesia’s always a safe route, it keeps questions off you, or we could fabricate a different version of the kidnapping. Say Robin here happened upon the guys who took you, got the hostage out safe.” He walked over to a massive computer while he talked, starting to type something rapidly. Tim and Robin quickly joined him.

Robin crossed his arms. “Any chance we could play it off like they had no idea who they kidnapped? Timmy’s a relatively high-profile victim.”

Big Tim shook his head. “No, they know he was taken from his house, and the Drakes’ security is too good for amateurs to get past, but sometimes covers work better with a little ambiguity. Let people fill in the details themselves and everything will blow over in a couple weeks.”

Tim came over to see what was pulled up on the monitor: news feeds and police reports about his disappearance. “So we say I have no memory of being kidnapped, I just woke up tied to a chair with a blindfold on. Didn’t see or hear anything until Robin rescued me.”

Big Tim smiled at him. “Exactly. We can go plant evidence. Stage a rescue, blow up a warehouse, and then get you home.”

He nodded back. “And any loose ends the police might try to follow up on can be chalked up to being destroyed in the explosion.”

“No, guys, we can’t just blow buildings up like that,” Robin interjected.

They both straightened up from where they were hunched over the desk to look at him. “Why not?” they asked in unison.

“Oh my god, there’s two of them,” he whispered, throwing his hands up.

Tim looked over at Big Tim confusedly, who simply shrugged in response.

Any further deliberation was interrupted by the sound of steps coming down the same staircase that Damian had exited up.

“Master Tim!” an elderly man exclaimed, rushing over, but he stopped short, noticing Tim. “Ah. Master Damian hadn’t informed me that we have a guest.”

“Alfred,” Robin said, a little desperately. “Please tell them we can’t blow up warehouses for no reason.”

“Jason,” Big Tim frowned, sounding disappointed, “were you not listening to all the reasons we listed?”

Tim agreed, but he didn’t say it out loud. That was kind of rude of Robin.

Big Tim gave a brief rundown of the plan to Alfred. At the end of the explanation, his eyebrows were lifted slightly. “Perhaps we could try a less extreme solution? One that doesn’t involve blowing up property that doesn’t belong to us?”

Tim felt reprimanded, but he still thought their idea would work. He met his older counterpart’s eyes, who rubbed his forehead with his fingers. “Okay, so let’s scrap the amnesia idea, that’ll cause too much attention. You don’t know where they took you, and were too disorientated to get a location when Robin rescued you. Jason, can you drop him off at the station?” He nodded, and Big Tim started pacing around. “Alright, just leave him there, don’t engage, and get out of there before they ask any questions.”

“There’s still a few holes there though. If we don’t give them a motive, the police will keep looking into it.” Robin crossed his arms. 

He waved a hand in response. “We can say they were just robbers. The Drakes keep quite a few priceless artifacts from around the world in that house. The robbers didn’t expect anyone to be home, and nabbed Tim to cover their tracks when he walked in on them. While you two get to the station, I’ll sneak into Drake Manor and grab a few items to corroborate the story.”

Robin sighed. “Tim, I really don’t know how to explain to you that exploding others’ property and stealing stuff is bad,”

Tim decided to pipe up. “Yeah, except my parents aren’t exactly the most ethical, per se. They’re archeologists, and a lot of the stuff they collect shouldn’t belong to them in the first place. I can write down a list of things to take that they wouldn’t have noticed missing immediately, and you can send them back to where they belong.”

“Okay,” Robin replied, looking back at Big Tim. “And you’re sure you can get in and out without being caught? They’re going to be on guard given everything.”

Once more, him and other Tim looked at each other before breaking out into laughs. “Please, Jason. I’ve been sneaking in and out of Drake Manor since I was nine years old to go chase vigilantes with a camera. This’ll be a cakewalk.”

The old man let out a huff. “Master Timothy, I have missed your particular brand of syntax. But please, do be careful.”

“Always am, Alfred,” Big Tim grinned back. “Let’s go, guys. The sooner we get Timmy home, the better.” He ruffled Tim’s hair.

Alright then. Time to go home.

* * *

In the back of her mind, Barbara knew something was wrong. She usually snapped awake with a clear mind. This molasses was new, but she didn’t care enough to try to wade through it. 

The first time Barbara was able to breach that hazy veil, she cracked her eyes just enough to make out a man hunched over near her hip. She couldn’t remember his name, but she knew that she knew him. Lucidity didn’t last long before she drifted off again.

It went on like that for a while. She didn’t know how long she lay there, reaching the surface briefly only to be pulled back down. Maybe days, maybe minutes, but she felt no urgency. And when she finally knew it was time to wake up, it was a calm ascension into the world.

“Hey,” she whispered against the harshness in her throat.

“Barbara!” Dick’s head shot up. “How’re you feeling?”

He fluidly changed position so he was sitting near her waist and leaning over her, elbows by her shoulders as his eyes desperately searched her face.

Barbara smacked her lips slightly, trying to figure out how to speak, but every movement felt weighted with lead. “Hey,” she said again, followed by a small cough.

Dick rolled away for a second and when he was back, there was a straw pressing against her lips. “Drink.”

The water made her feel a little better, but her mind still felt muddled. “What happened?” she groaned.

His jaw worked itself a bit. “What do you remember?”

Barbara closed her eyes, willing the gears in her head to turn.

_ Bang. _

_ ‘Oh.’ _

“How bad is it?”

Dick’s face scrunched up. Bad then.

“Dick. Just tell me.”

“The bullet grazed your spine. It’s—they don’t know if…”

Alarm coursed through her veins, clearing her mind further.  _ “Dick.” _

His eyes meant hers, so incredibly blue and shining with emotion. “Paralysis. From the waist down. The doctor said it’s likely you’ll never be able to walk again.”

And her world stopped.

Some moments were so impactful, so devastating, that everything seemed to hold still in sympathy to your grief. A small eternity packed into the span of a few seconds while your head tried to make sense of things again.

“What?” she whispered softly, barely processing the words as she stared at him, looking into those familiar eyes, at the curve of his face, at the grief etched in his brow.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said desperately, brushing the hair from her forehead several times. “It’ll be okay. I’ll  _ make _ it okay.” Their faces were so close that Barbara could see the exact moment his first tear dropped and fell onto her nose.

That broke the dam. Broke the numbness.

Her whole life relied on her ability to run, to fly, to fight. To keep the people she loved safe. To  _ protect  _ them. And now that had been ripped away from her. She felt something inside of her fracture, but she wasn’t prepared to face that reality right now. She didn’t have the strength.

_ “We’ll  _ make it okay,” she corrected with a wobbly smile. They both knew she didn’t mean it just as much as they both knew Dick’s words had been a plea to the world, not a promise. But they could pretend for now.

Barbara raised a feeble hand to wrap around his back, still too weak to do much, but wanting to hold onto the man she loved. Dick carefully slipped a hand under her shoulders, bringing her in oh-so-delicately while holding himself up on his other elbow.

She couldn’t tell which of them was shaking, but maybe it didn’t matter.

“I love you.” His voice cracked.  _ “So  _ much.” He held on just a bit tighter, as if his arms could be enough to pull her back together.

“I love you too.” And, ‘ _ Oh. There’re the tears.’ _

She wanted to clutch on desperately, to squeeze the emotions away, but her limbs were growing weak. Her arms loosened against her will until Barbara was held up by nothing but the press of him around her, her eyes trying to drift shut without her permission.

“Dick,” she whispered, and he laid her down gently. Her muscles relaxed, her body begging at her to let go, but she held on for a few more seconds. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

“Of course I will.” He kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, Barbara.”

And the world faded away again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope everyone enjoyed!! I love interacting in the comments, so don't be afraid to drop me one!
> 
>  **Summary of relevant yja stuff:** okay, so roy harper was captured and replaced with a clone (later named Will), but no one had any idea, not even Will. when Will found out, he spent like five years looking for the original roy harper, and eventually found him in a tibetan monastery on Feb 27, the same day Bart comes back in time from the future (which is a shitshow, btw) to save the world from the Reach (aliens). Also relevant, on the day Bart comes back, he saves Barry from dying by curing this Neutron dude, it's a whole thing.
> 
> so uhh, there we go. if you want more details, you should probably watch the show.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, some people have been asking for fics that follow this trope or are similar, so I compiled a list of some of my favorites. This is by no means an incomplete list, if you have another rec for a similar fic, leave a comment!  
> EDIT: People really liked the recs so I will be adding a few every chapter from now on.
> 
> **Fics that match this trope exactly:**
> 
> -Liminal Spaces: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1414078  
> You guys should already have read this before, but if you haven’t, what are you doing with your life? Go check it out.
> 
> -A Displaced Red Robin: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/6843397/1/  
> Same trope, but this one has Tim transported to season 1 Young Justice.  
>  **EDIT:** The author moved the fic over to ao3!! And with a new update!!! This is not a drill guys  
> New link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446644
> 
> **A few yj cartoon-verse fics that are Tim-centric and deal with similar themes to this:**
> 
> -Listen to Me: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10652151  
> I really love this one, but be careful if you’re easily triggered, there are some heavy themes. It does get happy though!
> 
> -Everybody lies in the cave: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1125459  
> I love this one too, but it also has some heavy themes. Lots of bamf Tim though!
> 
> -I’m not a villain, I swear!: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21071939  
> This one is great, it’s got plenty of batbros and bamf Tim. I guess this may fit into the multiverse travel category too.
> 
> -Universal Constant: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2336150  
> Another yj!Tim. Lots of Team interactions, which I love!
> 
> **Some fics where Tim multiverse travels:**
> 
> Well-Versed Replacement: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24416107  
> Another Batman asks Tim to come back with him to his universe bc his Tim died. Tim agrees bc he wants to see Kon again after his died.
> 
> Performance Piece: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20302222  
> It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, but I remember enjoying it. It deals with Joker Junior so be careful of tw.
> 
> **Chapter 5's Recs:**  
>    
> Take It Back Now Y’all: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21208958  
> A lovely time travel fic with bamf Tim.
> 
> Ports Bakery: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18132575  
> The platonic slow burn Tim & Jason fic ft. civilian!Jason that we all need.
> 
> Never Meet Your Heroes: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278113  
> I love this one, lots of Core Four looking out for each other.
> 
>  **Chapter 6's Recs:**  
>  Okay I think I’m going to try to post one popular fic that you’ve probably already read and one that you probably haven’t read in every chapter’s rec. The third will most likely be somewhere in between, but really just whatever I want.
> 
> Flightless Birds: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1372480  
> Stunning, spectacular. Basically Bruce goes around and adopts the batkids from other universes. Tw for joker junior and a whole lot of stuff that im probably forgetting (it deals w traumatized batkids so be careful loves)
> 
> Seven Acts of Mercy: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18978298  
> I love the Tim & Dami in this one. This is post-batman 71 though, so tw for tom king’s trash batdad and implied/reference abuse
> 
> And Now I’m Covered in the Colors, Pulled Apart at the Seams: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25495243  
> Soulmate au!! Both romantic and platonic soulmate (which I adore)
> 
> **Chapter 7's Recs:**
> 
> Shutterbug: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1575793  
> This series is an absolutely wild found family ride. Definitely go check it out if you haven’t.
> 
> Into the Brighter Night: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20935463  
> Lots of comics!young justice being chaotic, I absolutely adore it.
> 
> Foster’s Home: https://archiveofourown.org/series/32855  
> This series will Take You Places if you let it. An unbelievably cool au that I’ve never seen before.
> 
> **Chapter 9's Recs:**
> 
> I am the man we both couldn’t stand: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25460881  
> A lazarus!tim au with some lovely tim & jason. Heed the tags though!
> 
> Crisis: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24368773  
> This one is so lovely!! and has enough cassie & tim for my heart to be happy
> 
> How to Accidentally Acquire a Brother: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24617071  
> Basically everyone knows tim somehow, but none of them know that the others do, and also jason and barbara are lowkey about to adopt this sad child, it’s great


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